Echo
by Follow-The-Firefly
Summary: Mello loved Matt more than anything. That's why Mello had to end it all. MattXMello with other side pairings. Rated T for cutting, suicide attempts and abusive parents. lemon later on.
1. Meeting Mello

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note**

**It's Mika-chan! this is take two since someone got on my case about Mello and Matt having different last names...:glares: i couldn't remember them at the time, ok?! geez people! anyway, this is the CORRECT version. I also had to change Mello's eye colour and some other mistakes. let the deadly tale begin!**

Matt Jeevas walked through the doors of Central Academy in Tokyo, Japan. The redhead was somewhat nervous, this being the first day of his Junior year, but he figured that it couldn't be that bad. Yet Matt hadn't thought about his summer break-up with Near River, his lover for a good year and a half. Matt had felt so depressed when Near had broken up with him. The teen was almost back to normal, but the feelings of sadness still remained.

As Matt walked into his first class, Classical Literature with Moegi, he saw sticky-notes on each desk with a name written on it. As he walked around the classroom, Matt found his seat next to a very depressed looking blonde. The blue eyes were scanning a book, though Matt couldn't read the title. The blonde hair was straight, but it was as messy as Matt had ever seen hair look before. The most unusual thing about this boy, however, was the fact that he was wearing crimson rosaries around his neck, something most teenage boys did not do. On the blonde's face was a curiously shaped scar, the origin if the scar known only to the owner.

Matt sat down in his seat and stared in front of him for a few moments. Then Matt looked at the cover of the book and said, "What are you reading?"

The boy looked surprised but said, "_Cirque Du Freak: Vampire Mountain."_

"Have you read it before?" Matt asked. "I have the rest of the books if you need them."

"I finished them already, but thanks." The boy said.

"I'm Matt Jeevas by the way." Matt introduced himself.

"Mello Keehl." The boy called Mello said.

"Did you just move here?" Matt asked. "I've never seen you around before."

"I went to a different school, but it was in Tokyo." Mello replied.

"Oh, ok. So I guess I don't need to show you around, huh?" Matt smiled.

"No, that's ok." Mello said.

"So…may I ask what you did this summer?" Matt asked.

"Eh…played some soccer with my friends, went to the movies…the usual." Mello said. "You?"

"I got dumped by my boyfriend." Matt said before he knew the words were coming out of his mouth.

"Oh, man. I'm sorry about that." Mello said. "Do you know why?"

"He thought I wasn't being serious." Matt said. "Just like Near."

"So how long have you known that you were gay?" Mello asked. "Or are you bi?"

"I'm gay." Matt answered. "And I guess since I was 10. Why? Are you…"

"I'm not really sure." Mello said sadly. "I want to know, but if I find out I am gay, my father will probably beat me up again."

"Your father abuses you?" Matt frowned.

Mello nodded and pulled up a sleeve of his hoodie to revel scars on his upper arm as well as fresh wounds that were just starting to heal.

"Is that how…" Matt asked, gesturing to the scar on the blonde's face.

"Yeah." Mello grimaced.

'Why doesn't your mom do anything?" Matt asked.

"Because he beats her, too." Mello said in tones of sadness. "And this Depression isn't helping much, either."

"You have Depression." Matt stated.

"Yeah. But my dad thinks I'm just faking it." Mello shook his head.

Much to Mello's relief, their conversation had to be ended because class was starting. All through the introductions and class rules, Mello was watching Matt Jeevas and wondering if he would tell anyone else about his father and his Depression. Matt didn't seem like that type of person, but then again, neither did Mikami, Mello's former friend. Maybe Mello could trust Matt…

An hour later, they made their way to their next class.

"Where are you headed?" Matt asked the blonde.

"Creative writing with Matsuda." Mello said.

"Me too." Matt said. "Matsuda's a pushover, so don't worry about him."

"What do you do in his class?" Mello wanted to know as the teens went to their lockers to drop off their books.

"Just like the name suggests: write creatively." Matt smiled. "It's not that hard."

"I hope not." Mello said, managing to smile a little.

"There!" Matt exclaimed joyfully.

"What?" Mello frowned.

"You smiled for once!" Matt exclaimed.

"Is that a big deal?" Mello asked.

"You just looked so depressed last block, I thought you just couldn't smile." Matt said. "And I understand you're depressed and your family situation isn't that great, but it's great to see you smile about something."

"If you say so." Mello said. "But you look kinda cute when you smile, Matt."

"And you do too, Mello." Matt said in reply.

Creative writing was very boring for Mello. Maybe this was because it was the first day and they wouldn't be doing much. Matt had introduced the blonde to L and Light, two of Matt's friends that happened to be lovers as well. They seemed ok enough to Mello, but he couldn't help feeling that he was going to be betrayed again like Mikami had betrayed him.

Third block was something that Mello had been looking forward to: WWII. Mello had always loved WWII, for some strange reason. And Mello was happy to have Matt, L and Light in this class with him.

"Any idea what we do in this class?" L asked as he tapped his aquamarine pencil on his desk.

"Watch a bunch of movies, probably." Mello said. "That's what we did in the history classes at my old school."

"Watari-sensei falls asleep during the movies all the time." Light shrugged. "I had him for Modern World History."

"That started with the Renaissance." L smiled.

"That makes no sense." Mello said, twisting a strand of his rosary around his finger.

"Watari-sensei doesn't make much sense, but at least we watch a lot of movies." Matt said.

"I could use a movie." Mello said, leaning back in his chair. "I need some sleep."

"That's what night is for." L said.

"I can't sleep well." Mello said.

"Because of your…" Matt didn't know if Mello wanted L and Light to know about the blonde's Depression.

"Yeah." Mello said, grateful for Matt's tact.

"Your what?" Light frowned.

"It's nothing." Mello said. "Just something that I have to deal with."

"Like L's OCD?" Light assumed.

"A bit more serious than that, but in a way, yes." Mello said with a smile.

"God, Mello, it really is good to see you smile." Matt said.

"No one's ever told me that." Mello shook his head.

"Really?" Light and L said together.

"Nope." Mello said.

As the movie started, Mello fell asleep, as predicted. Matt watched his newfound friend sleep, wondering if he should tell the blonde how his own father had died. Matt could sympathise with Mello about not having a real father, since Matt's father had died before the redhead was even born. And Matt knew that having an abusive father was no fun, even though he had never experienced abuse before.

That was the scary thing. Mello had seemed so calm when he told the teen of his abusive father. Matt didn't ask how his father abused him; that would be very rude and show a clear lack of tact. And the fact that Mello suffered from Depression made it worse. Mello shouldn't be forced to suffer alone. Matt could help him get through the abuse and the Depression…maybe even show Mello that life could be something fun.

That was how Matt decided to help Mello.

**I trust i got everything right this time? reviews make Matt forget about Near.**

**next chapter: what happens when Near suddenly shows up at lunch?**


	2. Near

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or RENT**

**It's Mika-chan! Just a note for this series...i have the names in the western style because i thought it would look weird if i had Matt adn Mello's names in western and everyone else's in traditonal japanese. i finished this earkier, but i wasn't allowed on the computer until now...on with the deadly tale!**

"So we have lunch now?"

WWII had just ended and L, Matt, Light and Mello were leaving the classroom. L and Light had been writing notes back and forth to each other and giggling like grade schoolers, leaving Matt alone to his thoughts since Mello slept throughout the entirety of the movie.

"Yeah." L said. "You'll get to meet Misa."

"Oh God, not her." Light sighed.

"What's wrong with her?" Mello frowned, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie down so the scars were covered up.

"She's the most annoying person you'll ever meet." Matt explained to a very confused Mello.

"Isn't she going out with Near now?" Light asked.

"_What_?!" Matt stopped dead in his tracks, causing Mello to run head-on into the teen.

"You didn't know?" L frowned.

"I haven't talked to Near since we broke up." Matt said. "So is he?"

"Is he what?" Light questioned.

"Is he going out with Misa?!" Matt yelled, causing the passer-bys in the hallway to stare at the redhead.

"I think so, yeah." Light said.

"Well, Mello and I need to stop at our lockers before lunch." Matt said. "We'll see you guys down there."

"Ok, see you in a bit." L said, dragging his lover to the cafeteria.

"Is something wrong, Matt?" Mello asked, noticing a definite agitation in the teen.

"Did I tell you who Near was?" Matt asked.

"I don't think so." Mello shook his head as they reached their lockers.

Matt didn't answer right away: he as trying to remember the combination to his locker. When at last the teen opened the locker, he said, "Near is my ex-boyfriend."

"Really?" Mello looked surprised.

"Yeah." Matt said. "When I was going out with him, Near told me that he'd never go out with a girl." He grabbed a few books and stuffed them in his backpack. "That makes me wonder if he really is going out with Misa."

"Maybe Light got his information wrong, Matt." Mello shrugged. "It could happen."

"Not with Light." Matt shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Mello frowned as he put some of his books in his locker.

"Light is always right about things like this, Mello." Matt told the blonde. "He has a knack for finding out who is lying and who is telling the truth."

"But he could still be mistaken." Mello shrugged as the boys walked off to the cafeteria.

"Probably not, Mello." Matt opened the door to the cafeteria and walked inside.

Walking through the crowded lunchroom, Mello's eyes found Light and L along with a strange white-haired boy and a blonde girl. Where they Misa and Near?

Mello's question was answered when Light said, "Mello, these are Near River and Misa Amane."

"What the hell is going on, Near?" Matt's eyes became slits as he glared at the younger boy.

"Whatever do you mean, Matt?" Near asked.

"Light told me that you were going out with Misa." Matt shot a glare toward the blonde at Near's right.

"And we are." Misa exclaimed happily.

"Don't you remember what you told me?" Matt said.

"About what?" Near asked politely.

Light, L and Mello watched the conversation go from Near to Matt and sometimes Misa.

"About you saying that you'd never date a girl." Matt's eyes said 'you can't get out of this one'

"That was when we were still dating, _Mail_." Near said, calling Matt by the name that he detested so much. "Things have changed."

"Mail?" Mello frowned.

Matt ignored him and ploughed ahead.

"They haven't changed that much, _Nate_." Matt came back with his own attack at the white-haired boy.

"Ok, stop fighting, you two." Light said, getting between the argument.

The fighting ceased, but Matt and Near continued to glare at each other, as if glaring would determine who was right in the argument.

"So how do you like it here so far, Mello?" L asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"It's the same as my old school so far." Mello said, taking a drink of Coke.

"Anything different?" Matt asked.

"Not really." Mello shook his head.

"Why'd you move up here anyway?" Misa asked, picking the crust off of her tuna sandwich.

"Because my grades were failing because of my dad." Mello said in tones of sadness.

"The fact that your dad…" Matt wasn't sure if Mello wanted everyone to know about his abusive father.

"Yeah, exactly." Mello nodded.

"What does your dad do?" Light frowned.

"I don't want to talk about it." Mello said, ripping the crust off of his pepperoni pizza.

"But what is it?" Misa wanted to know.

"Misa, Mello doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to." L scolded the blonde girl. "He can tell us when he's ready." He looked at Matt and said, "But you know?"

"I kinda had to tell him." Mello said with a shrug.

"But you can't tell us." Misa huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Get over it already." Light sighed.

"So what now?" L asked.

"What class do you have next?" Near asked the blonde.

Mello dove into his bag and found his schedule. "Photography with Ukita-sensei."

"Ukita's easy." Matt said, stabbing at his chicken salad.

"All you have to do is take the pictures, develop them, than enlarge them." Light told a somewhat confused Mello.

"Sounds easy enough." Mello said.

* * *

"How could that not make sense?"

Light and L were sitting through AP Calculus, a class that neither had really wanted to take, but their parents forced them to take anyway. L had brought up the fact that Mello's face had a rather large scar and that he wouldn't say anything about his father. L had come to the assumption that Mello's father had caused the scar, but Light thought otherwise.

"I think Mello would have told us that his father abuses him." Light crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Especially when we were talking about it."

"But if he told Matt, why couldn't he tell us?" L wanted to know, tapping his aquamarine pencil on his desk.

"L, if Mello's father _does_ abuse him, Mello's not going to come out and say it." Light told his lover.

"But if he told us, we could get him help or something." L said.

"But people who are abuse victims feel like they don't need help, L." Light rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about something different?"

"Did you think that Mello seemed depressed?" L asked.

"Something that doesn't have to do with Mello?" Light rephrased his earlier statement.

"Are you jealous?" L smiled.

"Of course not." Light looked his lover in the eye. "I think he wants Matt, but I can't be sure."

"Really?" L became more intent. "Why do you say that?"

"If he's told Matt something that he won't tell the rest of us, then Mello must really trust Matt." Light said.

"But that doesn't mean that he wants Matt!" L exclaimed.

"It could, L." Light said, "You just never know."

* * *

On the way home from school, Matt asked, "Do you want to come over sometime this afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me." Mello said. "Where do you live?"

"435 Oblivion Terrace." Matt said. "Where are you? I can come pick you up. If that's ok, I mean."

"927 Havoc Street." Mello said.

"That's a few streets over from me." Matt said. "Is it ok if I come get you?"

"Yeah. Dad's not home today." Mello said. "He's on a business trip for a week."

"He won't have a problem with me, will he?" Matt asked.

"I don't think so." Mello said as they approached his house.

"I'll come get you around 3, ok?" Matt said.

"Sounds good to me." Mello said.

He walked inside and raced up the steps to the bathroom, where the blonde had a small knife stored in one of the cupboards. Pulling out the knife, Mello pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie and sliced the knife across his arm, bringing the usual feeling of release.

For some reason, Mello felt relieved whenever he cut, like he was releasing his problems along with the blood. Even though the scars still remained, Mello could always say that the scars were caused by his abusive father. Mello repeated this action several times, allowing the blood to flow down his arm to the tips of his fingers and drop onto the floor, where the blood formed droplets that splashed onto the surrounding surfaces.

All the while, Mello was singing a song that he knew all too well because it was from one of his favourite movies: _RENT_. It was the song from the group support meeting and even though it was about AIDS, Mello felt that the last line of the song applied to him. Despite this, Mello sang the full song, partially because he liked the song, and partially because whenever the blonde sang the song, he felt release from the pressure.

"_Will I loose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare?"_

Of course, Mello's nightmare was different than the nightmare in _RENT_. Some of the characters from the movie had to deal with AIDS and the trouble that the disease brought. Mello understood this, even though he himself did not have AIDS. He, instead, suffered from Depression and an abusive father. When Mello added the fact that his once best friend had betrayed him, the blonde felt like his life was a nightmare.

"Will I ever wake from this nightmare?" Mello spoke the last lines of the song as he held his arm up, watching the crimson blood flow down his arm.

**i feel so sorry for Mello right about now. and i really don't mean to offend anyone in Mello's position...reviews make Near and Matt get along.**

**Next chapter: a possible run-in with Mello's father?**


	3. Mello's Confusion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. I can't find the stupid rights...**

**It's Mika-chan! this is a sad chapter. I actually cried a little during the last part. there WILL be abuse in this chapter. I'd read it, though, even though it is depressing. and this is a LONG chapter, so you guys have nothing to complain about. on with the deadly tale!**

When Mello left the bathroom, he ran head-on into his father, Patrick Keehl. For one horrifying minute, Mello stood stock-still; blue eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the blow that was sure to come from his father. When the blow didn't come, Mello slowly opened his eyes and saw that his father was staring at him.

"So…" Patrick said, trying to decide if Mello had done something wrong.

What Patrick didn't know was that Mello regularly slit his wrists. Mello didn't tell his father, of course. If Patrick found out, he would throw his son into a wall and most likely beat him until the blonde was unconscious. It was for this terrifying reason that Mello didn't tell his father of his dark secret.

"Yes, sir?" Mello squeaked in terror.

Patrick didn't say anything. Instead, the older man walked down the stairs and into the living room to watch what Mello assumed would be wrestling.

Mello raced into his room, whipped out his cell phone and called Matt.

"_Yeah?"_

"Matt, it's Mello."

"_Hey! How's it going? We just spoke, what, 5 minutes ago?"_ Mello could hear Matt smile over the phone, even though Mello knew that one couldn't hear a smile.

"Matt, I can't go over today." Mello said. "My dad's home."

"_Oh, ok. Let me know if something happens, All right?"_ Matt told the blonde.

"I will. I'll see you in school." Mello promised.

"_See ya then."_

Mello hung up his phone and stuck it back in his pocket. The blonde really wanted to go over to Matt's house, but he knew that this would be impossible since his father was home.

Patrick Keehl already suspected that his son was gay: this was the cause of Mello's abuse. Mello's father thought that men should be rugged and strong, the way men were back in the 1800s.

And Patrick was also against anything dealing with gays and voiced it openly. If Mello brought Matt over, Mello's father would automatically assume that Matt was Mello's lover. This, of course, was not true, but Patrick Keehl was known for making hasty conclusions. Mello was also worried about Matt. Mello knew that his newfound friend was gay. He couldn't really explain to Matt that his father hated gays and would probably abuse the redhead like Mello was abused. That was the last thing Mello wanted. There was no way in hell that Mello would allow his father to harm his friend. There was no reason why Matt should have to deal with Mello's father.

Sighing, Mello turned on his laptop and logged on, waiting for the ancient computer to become active. In that time, Mello remembered that he had to feed his python, Alecto. He faced the cage near the window, where his snake was sleeping under its log. Mello went into his closet and retrieved a box full of mice, walked over to the reptile cage, opened the lid and dropped the rodent inside. He watched Alecto's eyes snap open and chase after the poor mouse before closing the lid. The blonde wanted to play with the snake, but he figured it would be better if the snake had digested its food. At least partially, anyway.

When his blue eyes returned to the screen, Mello found that his computer was ready. _It's about time_. Mello started working on a new amv he'd been planning to start for some time: _Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children _set to _Chop Suey _by System of a Down. For some reason, Mello loved making amvs, though the reason was as yet unknown to him. He figured that it was because he could add effects and other things to it, but this probably wasn't the reason.

Mello had been working on his amv for about 3 hours when his mother, Alicia, called him down for dinner. The blonde saved his video, turned off the computer, and went downstairs where his parents were sitting at the table. Mello usually sat at the island, since the table would only seat two. Patrick had refused to buy a larger table when Mello was born, so the blonde was forced to eat dinner away from his parents. Mello certainly didn't mind being away from his father; he'd rather be held at gunpoint than face Patrick Keehl. Yet Mello knew that he had to deal with it all the same.

"So how did school go, Mello?" Alicia asked as she dished out bacon alfredo.

"Pretty well. I meet some new guys." Mello said.

At this, Patrick's eyes flashed to his son for the briefest of moments, but they returned to the food in front of him.

"And who are they?" Alicia asked.

"Matt, L and Light." Mello said, twirling some pasta on his fork. "I met Near and Misa, but they seem annoying to me."

Mello didn't mention that Near was Matt's former boyfriend. Patrick would definitely have something to say about _that_.

"Do you like your classes this year?" Alicia wanted to know.

"Yeah. Photography's going to be fun." Mello replied. "And we watch movies in WWII."

"You probably won't be watching movies all the time." Alicia told her son.

"But L and Light had Watari-sensei for Modern World History." Mello said through a mouthful of pasta. "They said that he shows movies all the time."

"That's the problem with education these days." Patrick said, speaking for the first time. "Everything is too simple."

Mello sighed and continued to twirl his alfredo. His father made speeches like this often. So often, in fact, that Mello had a few memorized. Mello and his mother never listened to the speeches, but Patrick hadn't figured that out. He liked to rant about things and there wasn't anything his wife and son could do about it.

A few minutes later, Mello was made aware that his father's lecture was over when he heard silence. It was unusual to hear silence in the Keehl household. For one, Patrick was usually yelling about something and Mello liked to have his music at an incredibly loud decibel level so the yelling couldn't be heard.

"It's too quiet." Mello said, breaking the silence.

"Not that it's a bad thing." Alicia said quickly before her husband could.

Mello finished his dinner and went up to his room, where he opened the snake cage and wrapped Alecto around his arm. The snake loved to wrap herself around Mello's neck, but she never tried to harm him. Mello appreciated this and, as unusual as it may seem, he actually talked to the snake sometimes. That was how he got over Mikami. He told Alecto a lot of things, actually and she was a very good listener.

After the reptile got settled, Mello grabbed his camera and started to take pictures for his photography assignment. There wasn't a particular theme, per say. He just had to take pictures. After taking a few pictures, the blonde placed the camera on his desk, returned Alecto to her cage, and walked down the stairs to find something to do.

As soon as Mello turned the corner into the living room, he felt someone shoving him from behind, causing him to fall to the floor. Turning over, he found his father standing over him with a very angry expression on his face.

"I know you weren't listening to my lecture earlier." The cold grey eyes were glaring into the fearful blue ones.

"Yes I was." Mello said quickly.

"You're lying!" Patrick yelled. "You had that dazed look in your eyes."

"I was thinking about your lecture." Mello lied, though he knew that there was no way to get out of the situation.

"You are a bloody liar, Mihael." Mello knew that his father was mad: Patrick almost never referred to his son by anything, let alone his real name.

"Apparently giving you that scar hasn't taught you anything, has it?" Patrick glared at his son.

Mello said nothing, afraid that if he said the wrong thing, he would be beaten again.

And Mello was right. Patrick pulled Mello to his feet and punched the blonde in the face, sending Mello flying into the wall, where a dull thud sounded upon impact. Mello grimaced when he hit the wall, feeling the all too familiar pain that he was so accustomed to enduring. Patrick approached Mello again. This time, he punched his son in the stomach, causing Mello to crash into the coffee table. The table fell apart into pieces and Mello was lying among the heaps of the remains, his face cut in different places because of the splinters.

Patrick, deciding that Mello had learned his lesson, walked out the front door. A few seconds later, Mello heard the car in the driveway start up and pull out of the driveway onto the street.

Mello rose gingerly to his feet, his stomach aching from the blow given by his father. Slowly, Mello gathered up the pieces of the coffee table and set them in the garage with the remains of an old TV and stereo, both ruined by Mello's father. After this was done, the blonde went up to the bathroom to put something on the cuts so they would heal.

* * *

Alicia Keehl knew something was wrong the moment she pulled into the garage. For one thing, her husband's car was not in the driveway. Her suspicion's were confirmed when she saw the remains of what had once been a coffee table on the pile of ruined appliances. Getting out of the car, Alicia inspected the splintered wood and found specks of blood. Walking inside the house, she listened for signs of Mello. After listening for a moment, she heard movements upstairs coming from what sounded like the bathroom.

Walking up the stairs, Alicia found her son in the bathroom, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in front of him on the counter, attempting to clean up the scraps on his face.

"Mello, what did he do this time?" Alicia asked as she walked inside the small bathroom.

Mello jumped slightly, surprised by his mother's voice, but avoided looking into her eyes.

"He punched me in the face and threw me into the coffee table." Mello said, a tear slowly falling from his cerulean eyes.

"You didn't do anything to upset him, did you?" Alicia asked, taking Mello's face in her hands and inspecting the wounds.

"I was coming down to find something to do when he started." Mello responded, wincing as Alicia rubbed some hydrogen peroxide on a particularly tender cut.

"Did he say anything?" Alicia wanted to know.

"He said I wasn't listening to his stupid speech at dinner." Mello answered as he wiped a tear from his face.

"And were you?" Alicia asked.

"No…" Mello shook his head slowly.

"Mello, you need to at least pretend that you're listening." Alicia told her son, who was staring at his reflection in the mirror. "That's why he hits you."

"He shouldn't be doing it in the first place!" Mello exclaimed sadly. "Can't you do anything about it, Mum?"

"You know what he does to me, Mello." Alicia said. "Did you tell any of your friends? They shouldn't know about this."

"I told Matt. He promised he wouldn't tell anyone and he didn't tell L or Light." Mello said, "I don't think he's going to be like Mikami, Mum."

"Just be careful what you tell your friends." Alicia warned the blonde.

"I will." Mello promised. "I don't want to be betrayed again."

"I know you don't." Alicia said, "Are you feeling better now?"

"I guess so." Mello nodded slowly.

"That's good." Alicia said. "Do you think your face is going to bruise later?"

"I'll probably have a black eye tomorrow." Mello nodded again.

"As if the scar isn't bad enough." Alicia shook her head sadly. "I wish there was something we could do about that."

"But we can't Mum." Mello told his mother.

"I know we can't." Alicia said. "You looked so handsome without it."

"No I didn't." Mello said, twisting the cap on the bottle of peroxide.

"Yes, you did." Alicia said with a sad smile. "Just be careful what you do around your father."

Both left the bathroom and headed in opposite directions of the house. Mello went to his room, where he flopped down on his bed and gazed out the window, where rain was started to fall from the dreary grey sky. Why did Mello have to suffer through this? Why couldn't his life be like the other kid's at school? Why did every day seem like a living nightmare? Confused, Mello turned over on his stomach, where he began to cry until he fell asleep.

**i feel so sorry for Mello...sorry if this depresses anyone...reviews make Mello happier!**

**next chapter: a project for classical lit!**


	4. Trust

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note**

**It's Mika-chan! Thanks to my many reviews at this point! I hope everyone is getting into this story. We find out a little something about Matt in this chapter. I only have 8 days of school left, so once summer starts, i should be able to write more often. On with the deadly tale!**

When Mello woke up the next morning, he felt sore, which he had been expecting. He was always sore for a few days after a beating, though he thought he'd be used to the pain by now. After getting out of bed, the blonde fed Alecto a mouse before he forgot. The python could turn very nasty when she was hungry.

Mello left his room for the bathroom. Upon arrival, the blonde looked into the mirror and a shock wave coursed through his body. A large black and purple bruise had erupted overnight where Mello had been punched. As he gently touched the bruise, Mello felt the usual tenderness that bruises usually brought. This wasn't Mello's first black eye, but it was definitely painful.

Walking back to his room, Mello put on _Better Than Drugs_ by Skillet and commenced the process of getting dressed. After pulling on a pair of jeans, the blonde faced his closet, trying to decide what to wear. When he eventually pulled on a Slipknot T-shirt, Mello put on his usual accessories: his studded bracelets and armbands along with his earring. He decided to wear his lip ring as well; something he hadn't done in a long time. While he was looking at his reflection in the mirror, Mello was contemplating using Alicia's makeup to cover the bruise. Mello shook his head, deciding that wearing makeup would feel too odd.

Grabbing his backpack, Mello left his room and walked down to the kitchen, where Alicia was drinking her usual morning tea. When she saw her son, she shook her head sadly at the grotesque bruise on Mello's face.

"I told you, didn't I?" Mello grimaced.

"Does it hurt?" Alicia asked.

"Of course it does." Mello nodded, preparing a bowl of cereal. "Dad isn't home, is he?"

"He's at work." Alicia responded.

"I love it when he's not here." Mello smiled.

"Mello…" Alicia said disapprovingly.

"Well, can you blame me?" Mello raised his eyebrows at his mother. "Look what he's done to me!"

"Don't forget your medication, Mello." Alicia reminded the blonde.

"I know, Mum, I know. It's not like I want to feel like that." Mello said.

He found the bottle of antidepressants, popped the lid, and took the pill, feeling it sliding down his throat.

A knock sounded at the front door. Puzzled, Mello left the kitchen and walked down the hall to answer it. When he opened the door, he found none other than Matt in the doorway.

"Matt! What are you doing?" Mello asked.

"I came to pick you up." Matt said, walking inside. "And what happened to your face, Mello?"

"Dad." Mello sighed.

"I told you to call me." Matt said to the blonde.

"I kinda forgot." Mello said.

This wasn't entirely true. Mello didn't want to admit to Matt that he had been too exhausted from crying to call. He didn't want to seem weak in front of his friend.

"I won't ask what he did. That would be rude of me." Matt said. "Is he here now?"

"He's at work." Mello responded.

"That's good." Matt said.

The two walked into the kitchen so Mello could finish his breakfast and introduce Matt to Alicia.

"Mum, this is Matt Jeevas." Mello said, gesturing to the redhead. "Matt, this is Mum."

"One of the friends you met yesterday?" Alicia assumed.

"Yep." Mello nodded, eating a spoonful of cereal.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Matt." Alicia said.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Matt said politely.

"Are we meeting L and Light?" Mello asked.

"No, they leave earlier than I do." Matt replied.

"You two better hurry up if you want to get to school on time." Alicia said.

"Ok, ok." Mello rolled his eyes.

He set the remnants of his cereal on the island and walked out to the hallway with Matt. After walking out the door and onto the sidewalk, Matt asked, "So what does your dad do?"

"What do you mean?" Mello frowned.

"Where does he work?" Matt asked.

"At some car dealership." Mello responded.

"Is he home much?" Matt wanted to know.

"Not really." Mello said. "And that's a good thing."

"I bet it is." Matt nodded slowly. "You know, Mello, you can tell me just about anything under the sun. I won't tell anybody."

"I know, Matt." Mello said. "But after what happened at my old school, I think it's going to take some time before I can completely trust someone."

Matt was somewhat hurt by Mello's words. Why couldn't Mello trust him? Did the blonde think that he was going to tell the entire school about his father? Matt didn't like not being trusted.

"What happened, Mello?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure I can talk about it yet." Mello said.

"Oh." Matt said, slightly disappointed.

"But when I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first to know." Mello promised.

* * *

"So what are we going to do?"

Mello and Matt were walking out of their Classical Literature class an hour and a half later. Moegi had announced that they would be doing a project on a classical book of their choice. Presentations of said project ranged from PowerPoints to skits. Since everyone had to work with a partner, Matt and Mello decided almost immediately that they would work together.

"I was thinking of doing a PowerPoint." Mello responded to the redhead's question.

"Are you good with computers?" Matt wanted to know.

"I guess, yeah." Mello nodded.

"That's good." Matt smiled. "I'm not very good with computers."

"But what book are we doing?" Mello questioned.

"I guess we're doing _Macbeth_." Matt shrugged. "Everyone else is doing the good stuff."

"Oh yeah." Mello said.

Creative writing was as boring as the previous day. However, they were assigned to write a poem of any style for the next day and were given the opportunity to work on it in class. Matt was frowning at his paper, tapping his pencil on his desk, trying to think of words that rhymed with 'flame'. Mello, on the other hand, only had to stop to think every so often.

That was one thing that Mello didn't really want anyone else to know. Mello liked writing, though he felt that he was a bad writer. Most of his poems were depressing, so he was unable to write happy poems. For example, in his other school when he was supposed to write a romance story, the blonde wrote about how a girl was just dumped by her boyfriend. Mello just didn't feel right when he wrote cheerful poems.

"Having trouble, Matt?" Mello asked his friend.

"What rhymes with flame?" Matt asked in reply.

"Lame, tame, maim, game, same…" Mello recited.

"Ok, I get it." Matt smiled.

"You look nice when you smile, too." Mello told the redhead.

"Right…" Matt rolled his eyes. He changed the subject by saying, "How are you coming?"

"I'm almost done." Mello said.

"Screw this!" Matt yelled, scratching out a sentence of his poem, then a stanza.

"Calm down, Matt." Mello said, though he was laughing at his friend's actions.

"I _hate_ rhyming!" Matt exclaimed.

"Don't we all?" Mello smiled.

"Can I see yours?" Matt asked.

"Not until I'm done." Mello said. "Just so you know, it's kinda depressing."

"So? I like depressing stuff." Matt shrugged.

"If you say so." Mello said.

* * *

Soon, it was 4th block photography. Mello and Matt were developing their film and talking in one corner of the room. Developing the film was the most boring part of the class. The process involved several steps, one involving running hot water in the developing tank for 10 minutes, then cold water for another 10. However, the first step, shaking the tank and tapping after 30 seconds, could easily be done whilst doing something else. Before he met Mello, Matt would often read a book single-handedly. Now that Mello was around, Matt could talk to someone and the process would go much faster.

"Mello, can I tell you something?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Mello wanted to know.

"Only L, Light and Near know this." Matt said. "They're the only ones I trust."

"I won't tell anyone." Mello promised. "Especially if it's something really important."

"Mello, you know how your father abuses you?" Matt began.

"I had no idea." Mello's words dripped with sarcasm.

"You know what I mean." Matt shot the blonde a reproachful look.

"I'm sorry. Please continue." Mello said, tapping his developing tank on the table before shaking it again.

"I really don't have a father." Matt confessed.

"What do you mean?" Mello frowned.

"He died before I was born." Matt explained.

"Is it ok if I ask how?" Mello asked.

"That's the whole reason why I'm telling you." Matt told the blonde. "My dad was an alcoholic. He got too drunk one night and decided that he wouldn't wait for a cab." The redhead tapped his developing tank on the table. "He was going about 70 miles an hour and ran through a stoplight. He crashed into an 18-wheeler and died on the scene."

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, Matt." Mello said.

"But the thing is, my dad never wanted me. For some reason, he didn't want kids. I don't know why." Matt said, sensing Mello's next question. "Mom said that he wouldn't have been a good father, since he drank way too much and was about 100,000 dollars in debt." He looked at Mello and said, "That's why I can kind of understand what it's like to have a bad father, even though I never had one. I mean, he never wanted me. What kind father doesn't want their own kid?"

"Mine and apparently yours." Mello responded.

"Obviously. But I don't want you to think that you're alone when it comes to bad parents." Matt told the blonde. "Your mom seems cool, but your dad obviously isn't if he's abusing you. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Matt." Mello said. "I have a feeling that I'll need you a lot."

"And that's ok." Matt said. "And I might need you for some stuff, too. But I think we should always be there for each other."

"Yeah, I think so, too." Mello nodded. After pausing for a moment, Mello asked, "Matt, can I ask you a somewhat personal question? It has nothing to do with your father."

"Yeah, ok." Matt nodded.

"Is it hard being gay?" Mello asked.

Mello looked slightly taken aback, but answered Mello's question just the same.

"Sometimes. I always get people making fun of me because I'm gay, but I never really listen to them. I get in fights over it sometimes, but nothing really major." Matt replied. "I get a lot of cold looks from people, but that's because people are against it."

"Does it feel weird liking other guys?" Mello asked.

"A little, yeah. But I only really felt that when I first found out I was gay." Matt answered. "I don't really think about it much now. Why?"

"I was just wondering." Mello said. "I've never really known anyone who was gay. Not that I have a problem with it." he added hastily, seeing Matt's eyebrows furrowing in anger. "I definitely have no problem with it. I was just wondering how it felt."

"A little odd at first, but then you get used to it." Matt smiled.

"But how do you know if you're gay?" Mello asked.

"I don't really know how to explain it." Matt said, tapping his developing tank. "You kind of feel it. It's hard to describe. But you'll know it when you know, if that makes any sense."

"It does." Mello said.

"Why, do you think you're gay?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Mello shrugged. He changed the subject by asking, "When are we going to work on this project for Classical Lit?"

"Do you want to come over after school sometime?" the redhead asked.

"Sounds cool with me." Mello said. "Mum won't care. I'll just need to be home by dinner."

"Ok. I'll call you when I get home, all right?" Matt said.

"All right." Mello nodded.

The two boys moved on to the next step in the development process. Matt watched Mello uncertainly. He could tell that Mello understood what Matt's father was like, even though he'd never known him. Matt hoped that Mello would learn to trust him, as Matt had trusted Mello. Maybe it was a matter of time…

**this is such a depressing story... am i being descriptive enough? That's one of the things i'm trying to work on. reviews make Mello feel better!**

**next chapter: Mello goes over to Matt's house **


	5. Thunderstorms

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, or anything I mentioned. It would take too long to name all of them.**

**It's Mika-chan! Such a quick update! We had a thunderstorm at our house and this chapter just seemed to fit for the story. Thanks to my reviewers! I'm sorry if i can't thank everyone individualy, but i can't remember who everyone is. You know who you are! :hugs: on with the deadly tale!**

When Matt walked in the door to his house, he found a note on the kitchen table from his mother saying that she was grocery shopping and would be back around 4. That was an hour and a half away. After a light snack of barbeque potato chips, the redhead made his way down to the family room in the basement, where he commenced playing _Final Fantasy VIII_.

Matt was notorious for playing just about every video game ever created. The redhead only played a select few multiple times, but he'd tried most of the video games in the local game store. The disliked games were passed on to L or Near once Matt was finished with them.

The redhead was just about to get into a major boss battle when his cell phone rang. Taking out his phone, Matt checked the caller ID and learned that the caller was none other than Mello.

"What's up, Mello?"

"_When do you want me over?" _came Mello's voice on the other line.

"Whenever. Mom's not home right now, but she doesn't mind if I bring friends over." Matt responded. "And all we'll be doing is schoolwork, right?"

"_I think so, yeah_." Mello responded. "_Is five minutes ok with you?" _

"It sounds good to me." Matt said. "I'll see you in a bit."

Matt hung up, stuck his phone back in his pocket and resumed playing his video game. He was stopped, however, by his calico cat, Sirius, who decided to try to yank the game controller out of Matt's hands. Smiling, the redhead turned off the game system and scratched Sirius behind the ear, to which the cat began purring quite loudly. Deciding that he should wait for Mello upstairs, the redhead scooped Sirius up in his arms, walked out of the family room and up the steps to the kitchen.

It wasn't long at all before Matt heard the doorbell ring, announcing the arrival of a certain blonde. And indeed, when Matt opened the door, he found Mello standing on the doorstep with a laptop case swung over his shoulder.

"You brought your laptop?" Matt frowned as he stood back to let the blonde inside.

"I didn't know how old your version of PowerPoint was." Mello shrugged. "I have a newer version."

"I don't think I even have PowerPoint installed." Matt admitted sheepishly.

"That's a problem, then." Mello smiled. "It's a good thing that I brought my laptop along."

"Where do you want to work?" Matt asked.

"Wherever." The blonde replied.

"Let's go to my room." Matt said, walking up the stairs to the second level of the house. "Sirius will want to see me."

"Sirius?" Mello frowned as he followed Matt up the stairs.

"My cat." Matt explained.

The teens walked down a hall where Matt turned and opened a door before walking inside. When Mello first walked in Matt's room, he thought he had walked into the wrong room. The redhead's room looked exactly like Mello's: messy. For some reason, Mello had imagined Matt's room being neat and organized. Indeed, it was quite the opposite. The bed by the window was unmade, books, papers and video games littered the floor as well as cat toys and Mello could hardly see the desk because there were so many things piled on top of it. And the walls! Every single inch of Matt's wall was occupied. Most of the posters were for movies like _Hannibal Rising, Red Dragon, The Shining _and _Dracula_, but there were some posters for bands like The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Finger Eleven, HIM and Three Days Grace.

"What's up, Mello?" Matt frowned at the blonde's quiet state.

"I didn't expect your room to be so…" Mello couldn't quite think of a word to describe the redhead's room.

"Messy?" Matt laughed. "Yeah, I really need to clean up in here."

"I just thought your room would be neat and tidy." Mello told the redhead as he plugged his laptop into a nearby unused outlet.

Matt looked shocked at Mello and asked, "Why would you think that?"

"I have no idea, actually." Mello said, turning the laptop on.

At that moment, Sirius decided to walk into the room. Upon seeing Mello, the calico stared at the blonde momentarily, trying to decide if Mello was friend or foe. Eventually, Sirius walked up to the blonde and started rubbing his head on Mello's thigh.

"I guess he likes you." Matt smiled. "He doesn't usually like my friends. Especially Near."

"Why not?" Mello asked, now typing in his password.

"I have no idea. Near has a Newfoundland and a St. Bernard at his house, so maybe Sirius smells them on him. I dunno." Matt sat down next to Mello on the floor. "So which slide are we starting with?"

"The summary, I think." Mello replied. "What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Matt replied.

"So do we need pictures for this thing?" the blonde asked.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Photobucket!" Mello exclaimed.

"I see I'm not the only one in the school who uses Photobucket." Matt smiled.

* * *

"I still don't see what you're talking about."

L and Light were at L's house playing Shougi. L had asked where Mello and Matt were and Light had replied that Mello was going over to Matt's house to work on a project for Classical Lit. L then started wondering if Mello could possibly be falling for the redhead.

"Isn't it obvious?" L asked his lover.

"No, it isn't, L." Light replied, making his move. "Mello doesn't seem interested in romance at all."

"But did you see the way that he was looking at Matt yesterday?" the raven asked.

"That's because Matt yelled 'Screw this!' at the top of his lungs." Light rolled his eyes.

"Not that." L corrected. "After that. He was looking kind of confused."

"That doesn't mean he's falling for Matt!" Light exclaimed.

"He could be confused about his feelings." L surveyed the board with obsidian eyes.

"Isn't everyone?" Light assumed.

"Some are, some aren't." L informed his lover.

"But I don't think Mello's falling for Matt." Light told the raven.

"Oh, what do you know?" L made his move.

"A lot more than you give me credit for." Light replied.

* * *

An hour later, Matt and Mello had successfully finished their project. Mello had the PowerPoint saved on his flash drive, so he could hand it in the next day. They were just walking down the stairs when they saw a bolt of lightning outside. Running to the window, the teens saw that it was, to use a common expression, raining cats and dogs. So much, in fact, that a rather large watering can in Matt's front yard had flooded over and was running into the grass.

"I guess I'm not going home right now." Mello rightly assumed.

"Well, we can use this time to get to know each other more." Matt said, flopping down on the couch.

"We already know a lot about each other." Mello said, sitting down next to the redhead.

"But not about each other's habits and stuff like that." Matt said. "So we should ask questions about each other."

"Ok, you go first." Mello said.

"What's your favourite movie?" Matt asked.

"Why'd you have to ask that one?" Mello sighed.

"Why?" Mello frowned.

"I have so many!" Mello exclaimed. "It's the same with bands!"

"Do you want a different one?" Matt asked.

"No, I'll answer it. I like _Corpse Bride, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, Carrie, RENT _andthe_ Pirates of the Caribbean _series." Mello rambled off. "And before you ask, my favourite bands are Breaking Benjamin, Dir en Grey, Oomph, System of a Down, HIM, Nightwish and Nine Inch Nails, with many that I have probably forgotten. You?"

"My favourite movies are _Hannibal Rising, The Hills Have Eyes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ and _American Gangster_." Matt said. "My favourite bands include but are not limited to Nirvana, The Foo Fighters, Panic At The Disco, Green Day and blink-182. You ask a question."

"Favourite book?" Mello asked.

"The _Twilight _series_, Cirque Du Freak, Memoirs of a Geisha, Lord of the Rings _and _Harry Potter_. You?" Matt asked.

"_Lord of the Rings, Hannibal _series_, Tithe _series_, The Goodness Gene _and _Quicksilver_." Mello rambled off. "I didn't think you'd like _Twilight_."

"I love anything with vampires." Matt grinned maliciously.

"I don't like that look, Matt." Mello smiled as well.

"Well, I like yours." Matt told the blonde. "It's very well written. Not only girls read it, you know. A lot of guys read it."

"But mostly girls." Mello said. "I'll try it if you want. You might like _Tithe_."

"Why?" the redhead wanted to know.

"Because it's about faeries." Mello said. "I know it's different then vampires. I didn't think I'd like it, but I really love it."

"Ok, I'll read _Tithe _if you read _Twilight_." Matt said.

"Agreed." Mello smiled.

"Maybe you need to stop smiling, Mello." Matt said.

"Why?" Mello frowned.

"Because you look too cute when you smile." Matt said unblushingly.

"Is that a good thing?" Mello asked.

"Yes!" Matt exclaimed.

"I've never been told I was cute before." Mello said.

"Not even your mom?" Matt queried.

"She doesn't count." Mello said. "She thinks I looked adorable before I got this scar on my face."

"I bet you did." Matt grinned.

"Yeah, sure." Mello rolled his blue eyes to the ceiling. "Whatever you say."

"It looks like the rain is letting up a bit." Matt said.

And indeed, the rain had almost stopped and the sun was shining through the dark clouds.

"I guess I can go home now." Mello said. "Thanks for having me over."

"Oh, it's no problem." Matt said. "Can I come get you for school again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, ok." Mello nodded as he got off the couch.

"Is your dad going to be home?" Matt asked as he mimicked the blonde's actions.

"He's never home when I wake up." Mello said. "Thank God for that."

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Matt said.

"See ya." Mello said with a wave before walking out the door.

After Mello left, Matt walked up to his room and turned on his Game Boy Advance SP, since he was in the mood to play Metroid Fusion. Why was he now starting to feel differently around Mello? He hadn't even known Mello for very long. What really bothered Matt was the fact that it was the same feeling he used to get around Near. Could he be falling for Mello?

Matt shook his head. There was no way he could be falling for Mello Keehl. He still wasn't over his break up with Near! He couldn't be falling for Mello so soon! Yet some part of Matt knew that he couldn't deny what he was feeling. Sighing, Matt returned to his game. This was something that he needed to think about.

**So Matt's starting to have feelings for Mello...reviews help Matt understand his feelings.**

**Next chapter: Mello's poem!**


	6. Pools and Poems

**Disclaimer: I only own the poems since i wrote them.**

**It's Mika-chan! Three updates in three days. i'm exhausted! having said that, i will be taking a short break from this story for a while. i don't want to go too fast. This is a fairly important chapter, so pay attention people! on with the deadly tale!**

_Burning. Fire burning. Fire was everywhere and he couldn't escape. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the angry flames that were going to devour him alive. He felt the left side of his face burning, then the whole left side of his body was engulfed in the flames. Fire. Burning fire. He heard the cruel laughter that he knew all too well. The smell of gasoline filled his nose, making him want to gag, but if he opened his mouth, he would swallow the fire, burning him from the inside out._

_Nowhere to run. Had to get away. Nowhere to hide._

_Screams. The screams filled the air with the laughter, the merciless laughter. The sound of the fire crackling as it eagerly devoured the skin, charring it a grotesque black._

_He was burning. Burning alive. He couldn't do anything. Screams…_

And then he was awake. It had all been a dream. Mello lay in his bed for a moment, breathing heavily, telling himself that it had been a dream. It wasn't real. It was over. The clock on the radio said 3:26, but Mello could have cared less about what the time was. He'd had the dream too many times. Ever since that day, it was all he had dreamed about, if he dreamed at all. And nothing could be done to prevent it.

* * *

Matt was sitting in Creative Writing, reading a video game guide. L and Light had gone to the library to work on a project for their Chemistry class, leaving the redhead alone with Mello. For one reason or another, Mello looked scared. More scared then he had the previous day. The blonde was shaking all over, like had just been spooked by something and just getting over it, yet Mello had been doing it all morning. Matt decided to ask Mello about it, since he didn't want his friend to be scared of anything.

"Are you ok, Mello?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Mello nodded. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Hey, can I read your poem?" Matt wanted to know. "We can swap."

"Ok. I finished it last night." Mello said, taking the poem out of his backpack and giving it to the redhead.

Matt was still growing accustomed to Mello's handwriting, but he could tell that Mello really put some thought into this poem. The handwriting wasn't like it usually was. Instead, it was neater, like the blonde wanted his handwriting to match the words.

_Walking with my Infantry at night._

_Trying to liberate countries in sight._

_Staying awake with all my might._

_Waiting for the first sign of daylight._

_A gunshot firing is the first sound._

_The enemy is trying not to be found._

_My comrade's bodies litter the ground._

_I load my rifle for the final round._

_A bullet pierces through my chest._

_I fall to the ground in black darkness._

_When I wake up, my Infantry has evanesced._

_Survival will be the final test._

_Watching the planes fly above me in the sky._

_I'll watch them as I slowly die._

_I feel my warm blood on my hand_

_As I lay alone in this foreign land._

_Time slips by like grains of sand._

_My life is the enemy's demand._

_As I lay on the cold damp grass_

_In the sky, the airplanes pass._

_The sound brings back memories, but alas,_

_I know the sound will be my last._

_I try to move, but find I cannot,_

_So I think of the joys that life has brought._

_Yet, when I think of the things I sought,_

_Has my life amounted to naught? _

_The sunlight brings a brand new day._

_Yet, here alone on the grass I lay._

_Dying, I know there is no way_

_I can live to see another day._

_Watching the planes fly above me in the sky._

_I'll watch them as I slowly die._

_My one regret in life is this:_

_To leave behind the one I'll miss._

_I think of her and reminisce_

_As I accept death's sweet sublime kiss. _

"It's really cool, Mello!" Matt exclaimed, handing back the poem. "What's it called?"

"Planes Above Me. I was listening to _Unknown Soldier_ by Breaking Benjamin and it inspired me." Mello smiled a little. "If you sing the part with two lines, it will match the chorus."

"That's pretty cool." Matt said.

"Can I read yours?" Mello asked.

"Yeah, ok." Matt nodded as he reached into his folder for his poem. "It's kinda personal, but you can read it."

"Are you sure?" Mello asked, not wanting to invade Matt's privacy.

"I've already told you everything that's in it." Matt replied as he gave the poem to the blonde. "It's ok."

"If you say so…" Mello said as he began to read.

_I don't see why some people feel _

_The need to criticize_

_When they see two boys holding hands_

_As they slowly pass them by._

_It is such a controversial topic,_

_But I feel it must be addressed._

_Someone has to speak for the millions of people _

_Whose feelings must be suppressed._

_Humanity is so intolerant _

_Of anything that is different._

_It angers me when I hear these things._

_To me, this is of great importance._

_Imagine how you would feel,_

_If someone told you one day_

_That you couldn't be with someone of the same sex_

_Since society deems it wrong to be gay._

_The things they have to deal with_

_Are too horrible to recite._

_Yet it is something they have to deal with_

_Every day and every night._

_The rights for gays are different _

_Than the rest of the population._

_The way I see it, things should not be based_

_On one's sexual orientation._

_Just imagine for a moment_

_The despair that you would feel_

_If your parents disowned you_

_Because your partner for life was not ideal._

_I myself have read accounts_

_Of people who made their voices heard._

_And how they are criticized for it_

_Because they are trying to spread the word._

_Too often those who ridicule_

_Never hear the sounds of silence._

_Not soon enough will those ridicules_

_Be completely evanescent. _

_Society tends to focus on_

_What's expressed on the outside._

_I'd really like to see what would happen _

_If people saw what was on the inside._

_No one ever stops to think_

_About what it's like to be condemned._

_Did you ever stop to think about_

_What it feels like to be them?_

_So what if it is different?_

_It doesn't mean that it's heinous._

_Love is about love. That's it._

_So why can't people comprehend this?_

_Since society deems it wrong_

_To be lesbian, bi, or gay,_

_I have one suggestion for humanity._

_Why don't you listen to what they say? _

"I'm just glad we're not reading it in front of class." Matt grinned sheepishly.

"I like it!" Mello exclaimed. "Is this what you were working on in class?"

"I was writing about my break-up with Near, but that didn't go over so well." Matt replied. "So I decided to write about this instead."

"It's really good, Matt." Mello said. "Is this the one you're turning in?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded.

The bell rang, signalling the start of third block. After grabbing their belongings, the blonde and redhead met up with L and Light in WWII. The movie was about the Beer Hall Putsch, which bored Mello to no end. He knew he couldn't sleep: he'd have the dream again. He'd already lived through it once. He didn't need to be reminded of the horror of that day in his sleep.

Once class ended, the group made their way to lunch, where they found Misa and Near at their usual table outside.

"I have an idea!" Misa exclaimed.

"What now?" L questioned, doubting whatever Misa was planning would be legal.

"We should go swimming!" Misa told the group.

"Is the community pool even open?" Matt frowned.

"My pool's open." L said. "We're closing it next week."

"That's why I want to go swimming now." Misa explained.

"But why?" Near asked.

"It's the end of summer." Misa nodded.

"It sounds like a good idea." Light said. "It's a Friday, so we can stay out for a while."

"Mello, will your dad care?" Matt asked.

"He's not going to be home tonight." Mello said. "He went to visit his sister in Kobe."

"So it's settled." Light said. "We'll meet at L's at 6, ok?"

"Sounds good to me." Matt said with a nod.

* * *

Mello sliced the knife across his unhealed wound, allowing the blood to flow down his arm onto his fingertips, where the crimson liquid dropped to the countertop. He usually cut in the same spot. That way, if questioned, he could come up with an excuse easier than if he had multiple lacerations on his arm.

Deciding that was enough for the day, Mello cleaned the knife and put it back in the drawer before healing his wound with hydrogen peroxide. It would heal fairly fast if he didn't slice it open so much, but Mello didn't really care. He knew it would cause a scar when it did heal, but Mello had so many scars already that it didn't really matter much anymore.

Walking out of the bathroom, Mello walked into his room, where he took Alecto out of her cage and allowed the snake to wind herself round his arm. He started rummaging through his dresser and closet for his swimming trunks, since he had packed them away after his last swim in the previous month. After finding them, he laid the trunks across his bed and stroked Alecto on the head, wondering what everyone would say…

* * *

A large splash woke Matt from his slumber. The redhead was over at L's house with everyone save for Mello, who hadn't arrived yet. He still had ten minutes before he was late, but Matt was starting to get worried.

To distract himself from the blonde's absence, Matt looked around to see who had splashed him. The teen closest to him was none other than Near.

"Did you wake me up, Near?" Matt asked acidly.

"You shouldn't sleep in a pool." Near scolded his ex-lover.

Matt glared, but slid off the floating mat that he had been sleeping on.

"Where are Misa and L?" Matt asked, noticing that the other two were not present.

"Getting the net so we can play water polo." Near replied.

"He doesn't have a net." Matt reminded the seemingly younger boy.

"Ah, right." Near said.

Misa and L arrived back in the pool area empty handed. They obviously hadn't found the non-existent net.

"L, you threw the net out last year." Matt told the raven. "It was full of holes, remember? Big ones."

"Right!" L smacked himself on the forehead.

The gate door swung open and Mello walked into the backyard, wearing only a T-shirt and swim trunks.

"It's about time, Mello!" Matt exclaimed.

"How long have you been here?" Mello frowned.

"About half an hour." The redhead responded. "Near's been here the longest."

"Technically, L was." Near said.

"I live here." L said.

"Obviously." Light said, who appeared behind the shed.

"Light!" Matt exclaimed. "I forgot you were here!"

"Thanks, Matt." Light rolled his eyes.

"How's the water?" Mello asked as he finally reached the pool.

"Kinda warm." Misa said.

"As long as it's not freezing." Mello smiled.

"That's what it's like when I swim in the middle of the night." L said with a shrug.

"You know what?" Mello asked as he took off his shirt. "I don't want to know."

"Holy hell, Mello! What happened?" Near gasped upon seeing Mello's chest.

It appeared that the scar on Mello's face was not the only scar the blonde had. A similar shaped scar ran down from Mello's neck to his hip. It probably would have gone on for a while if Mello's swim trunks weren't covering it up.

"Just an accident when I was a kid." Mello said with a shrug.

"What _kind_ of accident?" Light wanted to know.

"Let's just say that this is proof of why you shouldn't play with fire, even if you aren't the one playing with it." Mello said with a grimace as he jumped into the pool.

The remaining teens looked uncertainly at each other, wondering if Mello was lying about how he had obtained the grotesque scar covering the left side of his body. They decided that they wouldn't press Mello on the matter and Light, L and Misa jumped into the pool as well.

"So what are we going to do now?" Near asked.

"Man, this feels good!" Mello exclaimed, lying on his back, his blue eyes closed.

"That's not a valid answer, Mello." L smiled.

"I know it isn't." Mello said. "Let's just swim around. I haven't been swimming in a while."

"What did you do all summer?" Matt wondered.

"Moved." Mello said. "It took a while to unpack stuff."

"It took a while for us, too." Misa said, remembering when she moved to Japan.

"So we're going to swim around?" Light questioned.

"I guess so." Near said.

"We could play volleyball." The raven suggested.

"We can't play volleyball in a pool." Misa told L.

"With a beach ball, we can." L shrugged.

"Go get it, then." Mello said. "I feel like a little volleyball."

While L went to get the beach ball, Matt's mind was deep in thought. Was Mello telling the truth about his scar? He probably would have told the redhead if it had something to do with Mello's father. Yet, somehow Matt didn't believe the way Mello explained the cause of the scar. It was like he was covering something up. But what was it? Was it really something to worry about?

**am i right when i assume Mello's scar is on his whole left side? and i am looking for a better word for Mello's eye colour. i can't think of anything besides blue because they don't look like any other shade of blue that i know of. And yes, i wrote the poems in this chapter. Both are in my portfolio for creative writing. message me with any questions, comments or concerns. I will flame back people if i need to. reviews make Misa less annoying!**

**next chapter: photography project!**


	7. A Simple Request

**Disclaimer: If i owned Death Note, don't you think Matt and Mello would be together by now?**

**It's Mika-chan! I'm back from my short break. I'm so glad people love this story! :hugs readers: and i have so many reviews so far! i was wondering if this story needed to be moved up to M...read this chapter then decide. on with the deadly tale!**

Mello woke up suddenly when he felt someone jab him in the ribcage. Looking over to his right, he saw Matt with a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Matt." Mello glared at the teen.

"Oh, it's no problem." Matt said before returning to his Game Boy that he was playing, hidden skilfully under his desk.

It took Mello a moment to remember why the room was so dark. Then the blonde remembered that he was in WWII and they were supposed to be watching a movie on the formation of the Nazi party. Looking over to his left, he saw Light and L were whispering to each other, though Mello had no idea what the topic was about.

He thought for a moment about the dream, the dream that had haunted for those many years. For some reason, this dream was different than the other ones. In this dream, his whole body was burning as opposed to only the left side. This dream had occurred a few times, but the other was more prominent and Mello would give anything to make it go away.

"What are you thinking about?"

Mello must have been deep in thought because he hadn't heard Matt's voice. When he did hear the redhead, Mello jumped up in surprise.

"My dream." Mello said.

"Dreaming about some girl?" Matt smiled.

"No." Mello shook his head.

"Some guy?" Matt asked.

"Nah, it was a nightmare." Mello replied.

"About what?" Matt asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm ok. I've been having this same dream since I was small." Mello replied, tracing his scar with his left index finger.

"If you say so…" Matt said hesitantly.

* * *

Soon enough it was Photography, the one class that Mello and Matt could talk freely in. The assignment today was to make a college, which seemed strange to the teens, since it was Photography and not Art.

So Mello and Matt were in their seats in the back of the classroom. Matt had several dozen magazines in front of him. The redhead had organized said magazines depending on their state of dinginess. Mello, however, was making his college entirely of words that he was writing using his Sharpies.

"Why don't you use magazines?" Matt suggested. "It would be easier."

"I like doing this." Mello responded.

Mello didn't simply write the words on the paper: he made the words look like art. For example, when he wrote the word 'deceit', Mello had drawn green flames around the letters. For 'misery', the blonde coloured the letters blue and had drawn a tear falling from the top of the R.

"So what are we doing today?" Matt asked.

"Do you want to finish our assignment after school?" Mello asked.

Since it was a Friday, the teens had to take pictures with their camera. The assignment this time happened to be people. Since it was a weekend, Matt and Mello were free to take pictures as long as they pleased. They had already used up about 15 pictures each in school. L, Light, Misa and Near were more than willing to have their pictures taken, especially Misa.

"Will your dad be home?" Matt asked.

"Mum said that he's going to be at the bar tonight." Mello said. "We shouldn't have any problems."

"Sounds good to me." Matt said with a smile.

* * *

Mello was in his room, playing _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_ on his azure Game Boy Advance SP when he heard the doorbell ring. Turning off the gaming device, the blonde raced down the stairs to find Matt at the front door.

"What's up?" Matt asked when he walked inside.

"Just playing _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_." Mello replied nonchalantly.

"I didn't think you played many video games." Matt frowned.

"Why wouldn't I?" Mello cocked his head in a puzzled manner. "I like video games as much as the next guy."

"Let's get this thing done." Matt said.

"Why, you have a date?" Mello smiled as he led Matt up to his room.

"I just want it to be over with." Matt said.

And so the boys began to take pictures. Most of their pictures were candid shots. Like Mello attempting to stand on his head, for instance. Matt ran out of film before Mello, so Mello was forced to take his pictures later.

It was around 7:30 when a car could be heard pulling into the driveway. Looking out the window, they saw, much to Mello's horror, Patrick Keehl parking the car in the turn-around in the driveway.

"Oh, shit." Mello cursed under his breath.

"I thought you said he wouldn't be home!" Matt exclaimed.

"I thought so, too." Mello said. "We need to go downstairs. I'll explain later."

The two raced down to the second level of the split-level home to find Patrick walking through the doors. When he saw the teens, Patrick's eyes found Mello first and then wandered over to Matt.

"What's up, Dad?" Mello asked.

Matt couldn't help but notice how Mello was shaking. It was like the blonde was a leaf on a tree in a hurricane. Patrick took no notice and his voice was harsh when he spoke.

"Who's this?"

"This is Matt Jeevas. We're taking pictures for Photography." Mello said meekly.

Patrick said nothing for a moment. He then decided that maybe his son was telling the truth and went down to the basement.

"That was close." Mello sighed once his father was out of earshot.

"What's going on, Mello?" Matt wanted to know.

"I'll tell you in my room." Mello said.

Once they were safely inside Mello's bedroom, the blonde began to explain.

"My dad thinks that I'm gay. Whenever I bring a guy home, he automatically jumps to the conclusion that he's my lover." Mello said. "Last time I brought one of my friends over, he was in the hospital for a month. I didn't want that to happen to you."

"Your dad has serious issues." Matt crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Don't I know it." Mello sighed.

"Well, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm supposed to be home by 8 tonight." Matt said. "I'll call you tomorrow morning, ok?"

'Yeah, sounds good to me." Mello said.

After walking Matt to the door, Mello was about to walk back to his room when he felt the blow from behind, forcing him to fall to the floor. Turning over on his back, Mello saw Patrick standing above him.

"What was he really here for?" the much older man demanded.

"I was telling the truth." Mello squeaked. "We were taking pictures for Photography."

"Don't lie to me, Miheal." Patrick growled as he punched his son in the stomach.

Mello crashed into the couch, causing the couch to tip over.

"You know how I feel about those gays, Miheal." Patrick said.

"I keep telling you I'm not gay!" Mello cried, fearing the next blow. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because you don't sound believing." Patrick said, smacking Mello across the face before walking away.

After Mello stood up, he carefully set the couch back upright. He was lucky this time. His father usually beat him pretty hard when Mello was suspected of being gay.

But was he telling his father the truth? Lately, the blonde had been starting to have feelings towards Matt. True, he hadn't known Matt that long, but the redhead was more of a friend than Mikami had been.

Mello walked up the steps to the bathroom, took out the knife and started cutting again. This time, the blonde cut his thigh, since the scar wouldn't be seen because of his jeans. Tears ran down his cheeks as he sliced the knife that was slowly turning crimson with each cut. But these tears weren't from the pain; Mello was used to pain. No, these tears were tears of confusion, of hatred, of understanding, of wanting to be understood.

As he watched the crimson blood run down his leg, he started singing the song from RENT again. The song always came into his head when he cut.

He was confused, confused by just about everything in life. Why did his father hate him so much? Why was his life so horrible? Why couldn't things be like the movies were everything seemed so perfect? Mello wanted to understand why all these terrible things were happening and he wanted to be understood. He wanted people to see him for who he was, to see that he wasn't a failure, like Patrick probably thought he was. It was just a simple request. That shouldn't be too much to ask.

**so should it be moved up? message me and let me know. i have one more day of school! but i have a chemistry final...anyone want to take it for me? reviews make Mello happier!**

**next chapter: a class trip?**


	8. Onesided Feelings

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot. who else would be crazy enough to write this?**

**It's Mika-chan! this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but i'm expecting the next chapter to be a long one. we find out something about Near and Matt's relationship as well. i finished reading the Death Note series today...i watched the ending a few weeks ago, but it was so sad that Mello had to die! even more of a reason to hate Takada, in my opinion. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

When Matt arrived at Mello's house the following Monday morning, he found Mello sitting on the front steps, waiting for the arrival of the redhead.

"You're early, Mello." Matt said with a smile.

"Matt, I've been thinking about something and I think I need to talk about it." Mello said.

This took Matt by surprise. Mello didn't usually want to talk about something serious; it was just something that Mello didn't usually do. However, the redhead decided that if Mello needed help, the least Matt could do was listen to his problems.

"You know you can tell me anything, Mello." Matt said. "What is it?"

"What would you think if I told you that I was gay?" Mello asked.

"I couldn't care less. I mean, I'd still be your friend, but I won't stop being your friend because of that." Matt responded. "I mean, _I'm_ gay, Mello. That would be really hypocritical if I didn't like you being gay. Why do you ask?"

"I think I might be gay." Mello replied.

"Aww!" Matt exclaimed as they arrived at school. "Can I ask who he is?"

"But I'm not sure. I'm not going to tell anyone unless I know for sure that I like him." Mello said, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Mells." Matt said

"Mells?" Mello frowned.

"My new nickname for you." Matt grinned as they walked into their Classical Literature class.

"It sounds unusual, Matt." Mello said with a small smile. "But what am I supposed to call you?"

"Just Matt." Matt said. "That's already my nickname."

"So is Mello." Mello said as the two took their seats.

"What's your real name?" Matt asked. "I promise I won't laugh."

"Are you sure?" Mello raised his eyebrows. "It's really weird."

"It can't be worse than mine." Matt said with a grimace. "So what is it?"

"Mihael." Mello flushed a furious shade of maroon.

"I like it, Mello!" Matt smiled. "Are you named after anyone?"

"I don't think so." Mello shook his head. "What about you?"

"Mail." Matt shuddered.

"As in M-I-L-E?" Mello frowned.

"No, as in M-A-I-L." Matt said. "It's horrible."

"I like the name, but not the spelling." Mello said.

* * *

"Near, may I talk to you for a minute?"

It was now lunchtime and everyone was in the lunch line. Well, everyone but Matt and Near. They were outside at their usual spots, waiting for everyone else to return.

Matt wanted to ask the white-haired boy about something he'd been suspicious about for quite some time. He had noticed when he had been dating Near River that the latter had been acting differently around the redhead. Matt was under the impression now that Near hadn't wanted to date the former at all.

"Of course, Matt." Near said, playing with his toy racecars. "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"You didn't regret going out with me, did you?" Matt wondered.

Near began to grow dubious. Had he been that obvious? What Matt was saying was true. He never wanted to go out with Matt Jeevas in the first place. He wasn't really gay, either. He had just gone out with Matt for a dare given by Gevanni and Linder.

"There's no easy way to say this, Matt…" Near began.

"So you did!" Matt exclaimed as the rest of the group arrived.

Upon seeing and hearing the argument, Light held an arm up, preventing everyone from joining the two arguing teenagers. Yagami Light had had experience with arguments and knew that it was best to let Matt and Near fight to the brutal finish.

"So what was it, Near?" Matt shouted. "Couldn't stand being seen with another guy?"

At this remark, half of the teens outside turned to look at the furious redhead. Matt didn't care. He had been used by Nate River and he wanted to know why.

"It's not that, Matt." Near tried to explain, but was interrupted by the redhead once again.

"Then what is it?" Matt demanded. "What is it, Near?"

"I only went out with you on a dare." Near confessed.

Matt stood stock-still. A dare….it was all because of a dare. Near had never loved him at all while Matt had trusted him with everything.

"What are you talking about?" Matt asked, trying to escape the denial that he was in.

"I only went out with you because Gevanni and Linder made me." Near admitted.

"A dare…" Matt said through gritted teeth. "This was all because of a dare?"

"I guess so…" Near said, straightening up for probably the first time in his life.

"Near, I trusted you with everything! You could have told them no!" Matt exclaimed.

And with that, Matt stormed off through the cafeteria and marched off out of sight. After joining everyone else, Mello thought about Matt. Mello had gone through exactly what Matt was. Mello hadn't had anyone to talk to, but Matt did. He had Mello.

"Where are you going, Mello?" Light asked as the blonde started walking back to the cafeteria.

"I'm going to find Matt." Mello said. "He needs _some_one to talk to."

* * *

Matt sat down against the wall in the bathroom, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall down his face. Near had been lying to him all this time. He'd never cared about Matt at all. One-sided…all of his feelings, all of his emotions toward Near had been one-sided feelings, one-sided emotions. That stupid, annoying white-haired prick of a boy had never cared for Matt anymore than Matt would ever care about ice-skating.

"Matt, are you in here?"

The redhead recognized Mello's voice and said, "What do you want, Mello?"

"This might be hard to believe, but I know what you're going through." Mello said, joining the redhead on the floor.

"You weren't going out with someone who never wanted you." Matt said acidly.

"No, but I've been betrayed by my best friend whom I trusted my life with." Mello said.

Matt gave a short laugh and said, "Sure you have."

"That's one of the reasons why I moved here, Matt." Mello said. "That and because of my father."

"So what happened, then?" Matt demanded.

Mello sighed. He hadn't really wanted to tell Matt what happened, but he knew that the redhead would find out eventually. Matt was inquisitive and usually found things out one way or another. So Mello sighed, preparing to tell Matt the whole truth…

**don't kill me! the next chapter will be good! and if i get a lot of reviews, it may be a lot longer than usual...reviews help Matt forget about wanting to murder Near!**

**next chapter: a part of Mello's past is revealed!**


	9. Betrayal

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note**

**It's Mika-chan! There wasn't a long wait for this one, ne? A note for this chapter...all the stuff in italics is a flashback from Mello. Meaning, they're stuff from the past. I hope that clears things up. on with the deadly tale!**

_Mello sighed as he reached over and poked his sleeping friend in the arm. True, Ancient Medieval History was a boring class, but Mello had heard that the final for the class was really hard. Sighing, Teru Mikami raised his head from his arms and said, "What, Mello?"_

"_You need to wake up, you know." Mello smiled._

"_It's boring and I'm tired." Mikami groaned as he tried to fall back asleep._

"He was always doing stuff like that." Mello said as he twisted a strand of his rosary around his index finger.

"Mello, what does this have to do with anything?" Matt couldn't understand where Mello was going with the conversation.

"Can I finish?" Mello asked somewhat acidly.

Matt scowled but nodded.

"_So what are we going to do after school?" Mikami asked._

"_I might work on that essay for Psychology." Mello said. "What about you?"_

"_Eh, I have to go to work." Mikami grumbled as the two left the schoolyard._

"_At least you get to work someplace cool." Mello said enviously. "I'd love to work at the movie theatre."_

"_I don't get to watch any of the movies, though." Mikami said. _

"_That sucks." Mello said. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Mikami."_

"_Later, Mello." Mikami nodded as he walked off to the other side of the town._

"So what does this guy have to do with anything?" Matt wanted to know as he clicked and unclicked a pen, something he always did when he was nervous or upset.

"He was my best friend before I moved here." Mello said.

"So get on with the story." Matt said.

"After a while, I started to have feelings for him. Kinda like you did for Near, I'm assuming." Mello said.

"I did like Near, if that's what you're wondering." Matt said. "So go on."

"It took me a while to figure out that I liked him and I started wondering if I was going to tell him. If I was, how was I going to tell him? How would he take it?" Mello went on.

"_What did you want to talk about, Mello?" Mikami asked as the two threw rocks into a nearby stream at the park. "It's not like you to be so serious about anything."_

"_But this is serious, Mikami." Mello said._

"_What is it? I'm listening." Mikami said._

"_Mikami, I think I like you." Mello admitted._

_Mikami stared at the blonde teen for moment before saying, "What do you mean, Mello?"_

"_I think I like you. Like a crush kind of like." Mello admitted._

"_I'd never expect this out of you, Mello." Mikami said. "I mean, I really don't care, but I'm not really interested in seeing other guys."_

"_I'm ok with that. I just wanted you to know the truth." Mello said._

"So you just told him? Just like that?" Matt asked incredulously.

"Just like that." Mello said in tones of sadness.

"So what happened next?" Matt asked.

"Mikami ended up telling the whole school." Mello said, tracing the floor tile with his finger.

"That you liked him?" Matt assumed.

"That and the fact that Dad abuses me." Mello said. "I thought he seemed too calm when I told him. I mean, it's not every day that you find out that another guy likes you."

"So what did you do?" Matt asked.

"_Why, Mikami? Why did you have to tell everyone?" a confused Mello asked Mikami one night at the park._

"_Because they were going to find out anyway." Mikami replied, hands in his pockets, obviously not wanting to be in the conversation at all._

"_Maybe not if you hadn't told everyone." Mello said._

"_You know how this school is, Mello. People find out everything." Mikami said. "Especially when there's a gay guy involved."_

"_Is that what this is about?" Mello demanded. "It's not because of my father, is it? It's because I think I'm gay?"_

"_I _know _you're gay, Mello." Mikami corrected the blonde._

"_How do you know, Mikami?" Mello challenged, feeling the fury building up in his chest._

"_Because you like me." Mikami replied._

"_I could be bi for all you know!" Mello exclaimed, earning himself some reproachful looks from innocent passer-bys. _

"_Yeah, but you still like other men, don't you?" Mikami pointed out._

"So I attacked him." Mello said nonchalantly.

"You attacked him?!" Matt exclaimed in surprise. "What for? Because he didn't like gays?"

"That's it." Mello nodded. "All I knew was I wanted to hurt him and I didn't care how much I got hurt in return."

_He kept punching him even though Mikami was putting up a very good fight. _

"_Mello, stop it!" Mikami shouted._

"_Why should I?" Mello yelled. "I trusted you, Mikami! You said you'd never tell anyone about my father!"_

"_I didn't mean for that to happen, Mello!" Mikami exclaimed._

"_Like hell you didn't!" Mello screamed._

"So what happened?" Matt asked.

"His dad came and broke up the fight. His dad told my Dad and my Dad ended up beating me up some more." Mello grimaced. "Then we moved and now I'm here telling you my lovely story."

"It's anything but lovely, Mello." Matt said.

"Sarcasm." Mello said. "So do you still think I don't know what you're feeling?"

"I guess you do. But I trusted him!" Matt exclaimed.

"I trusted Mikami, too. We both got hurt by someone we trusted our lives with." Mello said. "But now we need to move on and forget that part of our lives."

"I guess so." Matt said.

"It'll be ok, Matt." Mello said, wrapping his arm around Matt's waist, something he figured Matt would appreciate.

"I know it will. I just can't believe he'd do something like this." Matt said sadly.

"Mikami was just like Near. With them, anything could happen." Mello said. "Are you ready for some lunch?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Matt said.

"I thought so." Mello said, pulling the redhead to his feet.

"But how did you get over Mikami?" Matt asked as the two left he bathroom.

"I had my snake to talk to. Talking really helped." Mello said. "So if you need anyone to talk to, I'm willing to listen."

"Thanks, Mello." Matt said with a smile. "Wait…you have a snake?"

"Yeah, Alecto." Mello frowned. "Didn't you see her when you came over?"

"I guess not." Matt said. "Is she a nice snake?"

"Yep." Mello nodded. "She's a great listener. Hey, you should come over sometime and see her."

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Matt said. "When did you have in mind?"

"Is after school today ok?" Mello asked, stopping at the door.

"Sounds good to me." Matt nodded.

"Ok, then." Mello smiled.

The two went outside and joined L, Light, Near and Misa at their usual table. Mello couldn't help but notice a definite change in Matt's mood. The redhead just needed to talk about what had happened and Mello was more than willing to listen.

* * *

L and Light were sitting through AP Calculus again, both bored out of their mind. They were supposed to be taking notes, but both teens were whispering to each other to ease the boredom.

"What do you think is up with Mello?" L asked.

"What do you mean?" Light frowned as he pretended to write some notes down on a piece of paper.

"At lunch today." The raven explained.

"What about it?" Light wondered.

"Why did he go after Matt?" L wanted to know. "You know, after Matt took off?"

"He wanted to see if he was ok." Light answered. "That's what real friends do, anyway."

"But he was gone a long time." L pointed out.

"Maybe Matt wanted to talk." Light suggested. "I'd want to talk about it."

"Well, I still think there's something going on with the two of them." L said.

"Oh, for the love of humanity, L!" Light rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" the raven questioned.

"Obviously not if I can't figure it out." Light said.

"Have you _seen_ the way he looks at Matt?" L asked. "And Matt looks at Mello the exact same way!"

"Why are you always in other people's business, L?" Light wanted to know.

"I just am." L responded with a sly smile.

* * *

Mello was in his room when he heard the doorbell ring. After pausing the video he'd been watching on Youtube, the blonde raced out of his room and opened the front door to find Matt standing on the porch steps.

"What's up?" Mello asked. "Feeling any better?"

"A bit, yeah." Matt nodded as he walked inside.

"That's good." Mello said. "So, you wanna see Alecto?"

"Hell yeah." Matt smiled.

The two went to Mello's room where the blonde proceeded to taking the python out of her cage. After allowing the snake to get used to the redhead's scent, Matt allowed Alecto to wrap herself around his arm.

"Let me know if she squeezes too hard." Mello told the redhead. "She's usually pretty good when she's around other people."

"I don't think we'll have a problem." Matt said. "So what do you want to do?"

"We can talk video games." Mello said.

"Which ones have you played?" Matt asked as he sat down on Mello's bed.

"I've played a bunch of the Final Fantasy series, plus some _Assassin's Creed, _all of the _Call of Duty_ series, _Kingdom Hearts _and _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_…" Mello rambled off.

"Not the second one?" Matt frowned as he stroked Alecto's head.

"I'm on that now." Mello replied. "I just got to the Hollow Bastion invasion."

"Oh, that's fun." Matt grinned. "You get to see Axel."

"I don't see why everyone likes Axel, though." Mello frowned.

"You'll know once you finish the game." Matt told the blonde. "I cried and I don't usually cry when I play video games."

"That bad, huh?" Mello smiled.

"It is." Matt said solemnly.

"So what happens?" Mello wanted to know.

"I can't tell you that!" Matt exclaimed. "That would ruin the game!"

"Well, how will I know when it's the sad part?" Mello asked.

"Trust me. You'll know when you get there." Matt assured him.

The doorbell rang again, causing both boys to look at each other in confusion.

"I wonder who it is?" Matt frowned.

"Maybe Mum forgot her key." Mello said, getting off the bed. "Do you want to wait here?"

"Sure, I'll be ok." Matt nodded.

Mello walked down the stairs and opened the front door. What stood on the porch steps completely shocked Mello. A boy around his age was waiting outside the door, long black hair falling casually into the eyes. It was him. After staring at the boy for a moment, Mello said, "What do you want, Mikami?"

**don't kill me! :hides under table with bulletproof vest given by a reader of another story: but does it explain why Mello has a hard time trusting Matt? i take it no one things the rating should go up? reviews make Matt feel better about Near.**

**next chapter: what does Mikami want? and what does Mello have to do with it?**


	10. Mikami

**Disclaimer: Really now. what would i do if i owned Death Note?**

**It's Mika-chan! My thanks extend to all of my reviewers! :hugs: and shame to all those who didn't! is it really so hard to review these days? anyway, what a cliffy on the last chapter, ne? on with the deadly tale!**

"So what are you doing here?" Mello asked the raven-haired teen standing on the front porch.

"I just wanted to say hi." Mikami said.

"Like hell you did." Mello glared at the teen, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Come on, Mello! You're still mad at me for what happened?" Mikami exclaimed.

"Of course I'm pissed, Mikami." Mello's voice was deathly serious. "You can't tell me you wouldn't be pissed if you were in my situation."

"True, but listen, Mello…" Mikami started to say.

"What do you want?" Mello acidly repeated his previous question. "I have a friend over right now."

"Can I come in?" Mikami asked.

"You're not going to leave until you do, are you?" Mello glared at his former friend.

"I just want to talk." Mikami said. "And I have something to tell you."

After a moment's hesitation, Mello said, "Fine, but make it quick."

After walking inside, the teens walked inside the living room, where Mello threw himself on the couch.

"Yes, Mikami?" he glared at the teen.

"I just wanted to tell you that I might be moving again and if I do, I'll be going to your school." Mikami said.

Hearing footsteps, Mello's eyes fell on the doorway to see Matt staring at the two.

"What's wrong, Mello?" Matt asked.

"I'll be up in a minute, Matt." Mello said. "Is Alecto behaving herself?"

"Yes." Matt said. "I just thought that something was wrong."

"Everything's ok, Matt. I'll be up in a bit." Mello said. "I promise."

"Okay…" Matt said.

After looking at Mikami for the briefest of seconds, the redhead made his way up to Mello's bedroom. Mello's aquamarine eyes fell on Mikami and said, "So?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to be friends again?" Mikami asked.

"Are you serious?" Mello glared at Mikami. "Why would I still want to be friends with you after what you did to me, Mikami?"

"About that…" Mikami rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed.

"You can't tell me that you didn't mean to tell everyone." Mello's eyes were still slits.

"I didn't want it to get that far." Mikami tried to explain.

"So why did you tell everyone to begin with, Mikami?" Mello implored. "I know you didn't like the fact that I was gay, but that's no reason to tell everyone about it!"

"You're not gay anymore?" Mikami frowned.

Mello didn't respond right away. He was still unsure of how he felt for Matt. He knew it was a foolish thing to fall for someone he barely even knew. Yet he knew a lot about Matt. And after what happened between the redhead and Near, Mello couldn't help but feel that he had gotten just a little bit closer to Matt.

"No." Mello said after a few seconds.

"Your eyes tell me otherwise, Mello." Mikami said with a slight smile. "You know your eyes will always give you away. That was always one of your weaknesses."

"That doesn't matter, Mikami." Mello said crossly. "I have no intention of becoming friends with you. Not after the way you betrayed me."

"I didn't betray you, Mello." Now it was Mikami's turn to be cross.

"Oh yeah, that wasn't betrayal at all." Mello's words dripped with sarcasm.

"I can see I'm wasting my time." Mikami sighed. "I'll let you know if I'm moving."

"Don't bother." Mello said acidly. "I could care less about you."

"And you know I feel the same way about you." Mikami said.

And with that, Mikami made his exodus, leaving Mello alone in the living room. He walked back up to his room where he found Matt sitting on his bed, stroking Alecto on the head.

"That was Mikami, wasn't it?" Matt assumed.

"Yeah." Mello said.

"You fell for that guy?" Matt asked incredulously.

"I'm not very proud of it." Mello grimaced.

"May I ask what he wanted?" Matt didn't know if Mello wanted to talk about his conversation with his former friend.

"He said he might be moving here and he wanted to know if I wanted to be friends with him again." Mello said, his voice suddenly becoming angry.

"What did you say?" Matt asked, not wanting to invade Mello's private business.

"I told him no. I don't want to be friends with someone who betrayed me." Mello crossed his arms angrily in front of his chest.

"I can't say that I blame you." Matt nodded, running his finger along Alecto's long body. "I wouldn't want to be friends with someone like that either."

"He still thinks that I'm gay." Mello said.

"Are you?" Matt implored.

"I'm not sure." Mello said. "I need some more time to think about it."

"That's ok. I think I feel the same way, too." Matt said. "Maybe we can find out together."

"Yeah." Mello said, deciding not to tell Matt that the latter was the one that Mello was thinking about.

"So what do you want to do now? Let's forget about Mikami and do something fun." Matt suggested.

"We can play poker." Mello suggested.

So they played poker for a few hours until Matt had to go home for dinner. Alicia arrived home from work about 20 minutes after Matt left and found her son in the living room playing _Kingdom Hearts II _on the PlayStation.

"What did you get into today?" she asked Mello as she started dinner: chicken and chipped beef.

"Matt came over for a little while." Mello said. "And Mikami…"

"Mikami?" Alicia frowned.

"Yeah." Mello nodded.

"What did he want?" Alicia asked curiously.

"He wanted to tell me that he might be going to our school." Mello said, turning off the game system and joining his mother in the kitchen. "He wants to be friends again."

"What did you tell him?" Alicia asked.

"I told him no." Mello said, a far away look in his eyes.

"That's good, Mello." Alicia said happily.

"Like I'd want to be his friend again after what he did to me." Mello scowled at the obviously unpleasant memory.

"I didn't think you would." Alicia said, setting out the chicken on the countertop.

After dinner, Mello retreated to the bathroom once again with the knife he had used for so many years. So Mikami was back…and he would be going to Mello's school. Well, maybe. Mikami didn't know yet. But it could still happen and Mello didn't want to have anything to do with Teru Mikami. Who could blame him?

Slicing the knife across the thigh, Mello started thinking about what would happen if Mikami started attending their school. Would Matt fall for Mikami instead of Mello? No. There was no _way_ that Matt would fall for Mikami. Matt seemed to hate Mikami for what the latter did to Mello. And Mello had a feeling that Mikami wouldn't want anything to do with Matt either.

As he watched the crimson liquid flow down his leg, Mello's thoughts fell on Matt. What _did _he feel about the redheaded gamer? Sure they were the best of friends, but did Mello really want anything more than that? Did he want to risk his friendship with Matt so they could be lovers? Mello shook the thought from his head as he cut again. What was he thinking? He didn't even know if he liked Matt or not. Right now, all Mello was thinking about was Mikami and whether or not he would be back in Mello's life.

**i can just tell that i'm going to get stuff thrown at me, ne? reviews make Near suffer for what he did to Matt!**

**next chapter: Matt finds out about Mello's cutting**


	11. Mello's Secret

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Don't you think L and Light and Matt and Mello would be together by now?**

**It's Mika-chan! this chapter is MUCH longer than normal. my thanks to xXxXxXmxmXxXxXx for making the AWESOME video for this series on my profile. this is a sad chapter, too. well, on with the deadly tale!**

Matt awoke the next morning when Sirius started licking his face at almost five in the morning. The redhead still had about 45 minutes before he had to get ready for school, so he took out his red Game Boy and started playing _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_.

As he defeated the Heartless and various bosses in the different worlds, Matt's thoughts fell once again on Mello. He had realized the night before that he was almost to the point where he understood how he felt about his blonde friend. He thought he liked him before, but now Matt was almost positive that he had fallen for Mello. Maybe he'd fallen for Mello the same way that Mello had fallen for Mikami.

Yet this time would be different. Matt had no intention of telling anyone about Mello's father or his Depression. Mello might not trust him yet, but Matt had sworn when he had first met the blonde that he would help Mello out as best as he could. And Matt was going to help Mello, even if it meant killing himself in the process.

When he looked at the clock, Matt learned that it was 5:54. He saved his game, pushed the calico cat that was Sirius off the bed, and walked to the bathroom so he could take a shower. Sure, he showered every night before he went to bed, but a cold shower always woke Matt up in the morning. Most sane people didn't take cold showers anyway, but who said that Matt was sane? He was saner than some people, to say the least.

So when he had properly showered, the gamer walked back to his room to find Sirius curled up in a ball on the comforter on Matt's bed. A smile formed on Matt's lips. Sirius would sleep anywhere and everywhere. Literally. These places included but were not limited to the dryer, the basket of clean clothes, the basket of dirty clothes, the sink, the bathtub and on top the printer. One time Matt even found Sirius asleep on top of the stove. Not a very wise place to sleep, but it was a place nonetheless.

* * *

"I'm bored!"

Mello and Matt were in Creative Writing. Mello had noticed that L and Light were usually off by themselves during this class and tended to avoid himself and Matt. The blonde couldn't think of any particular reason. L and Light certainly weren't mad at them because they always joked around with Matt and Mello during their other classes.

The class was supposed to be writing a poem or perfecting a poem written at another time. Mello was frowning at his paper, the end of his mechanical pencil in his mouth, as he tried to fix his poem.

Matt, on the other hand, was as bored as hell. He had skived off working on his poem and was now paying the price for it.

"Then write your poem, already!" Mello sighed.

"I want to read yours." Matt said. "Besides, I already have a poem."

"Matt, you just said that you didn't have a poem." Mello told the gamer, who was trying to play Pokémon Gold under his desk.

"I have one finished." Matt corrected his earlier statement.

"Can I read it?" Mello asked curiously.

"Yeah, hold on." Matt said. "My Charmander is in a fight with a Nidorina and I need to finish it."

"It matters not to me." Mello said. "I'll get it."

"What's with the weird speech, Mels?" Matt frowned.

"Just my randomness." Mello said.

"You took your meds this morning, right?" Matt questioned.

"Matt, if I didn't take my meds, I'd be the opposite of what I am now." Mello said. "Let me read your poem already!"

"Ok, ok." Matt said as he handed the blonde a sheet of paper with words printed on the front.

_I see him everyday _

_And talk to some of his friends._

_So why can't I ignore_

_These confusing emotions in my head?_

_Sometimes I don't know what to think_

_And things will be just fine._

_But then he does one little thing_

_To make me change my mind._

_These thoughts, they do confuse me so._

_I don't know what to think._

_How can I understand these thoughts_

_When I fear I'm on the brink?_

_These thoughts do not distract me_

_But my mind is in disarray._

_If I tell him how I feel,_

_What exactly would he say? _

"Who is this based on?" Mello asked as he handed back the paper to Matt.

"I'm not sure I can tell you yet." Matt said, though he knew full well that Mello was the inspiration of the poem.

"Do I know her?" Mello asked.

"Him." Matt corrected automatically.

"Him?" Mello frowned.

"I'm gay, remember?" Matt smiled.

"Ah, right." Mello shrugged. "So do I know him?"

"You do." Matt said. "But I don't want you to tell him. I'm not even sure about how I feel about him. I'm almost there, but I don't want to do anything until I know for sure."

"Ok, I can wait." Mello said.

"So can I see yours now?" Matt wanted to know.

"Yeah, sure." Mello said as he handed the sheet of paper to the redhead.

_Awake on these eternal sleepless nights._

_Wondering why sleep won't come to me._

_Outside my window is the absence of light._

_Why won't sleep set my mind free?_

_My eyelids feel unusually light._

_And my mind is still wide-awake._

_The light on this page is so very bright_

_As I write about something to which we all relate._

_11:41. What a surprise…_

_In my head singing _One Song Glory_._

_For some reason, I can't close my eyes._

_I guess I'll have to wait for morning._

_I'll lie here until I can close my eyes._

_I want to sleep, but I'm awake, it seems._

_I guess I'll give it another try_

_So my mind can embrace the beauty of dreams._

"When did you write this?" Matt asked, handing the sheet of paper to the blonde.

"Last night when I was awake." Mello grinned sheepishly.

"I couldn't sleep either." Matt confessed.

"Really?" Mello cocked his head quizzically. "What were you thinking about?"

"Him." Matt answered in one word.

"The guy you like?" Mello assumed.

"Yeah." Matt flushed pink. "What about you?"

"I was thinking about him, too." Mello admitted, his face turning a violent shade of scarlet.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Mels!" Matt told the blonde. "Wait, do your parents know?"

"You know what my dad thinks about gays, Matt." Mello said in the tones of sadness he used so often.

"What about your mom?" Matt asked.

"Mum said that she doesn't care. She said that the only way she'd care was if I'd fallen for a duck or something." Mello said with a small smile.

"Why would you fall for a duck?" Matt wondered, though he too was smiling.

"I have no idea." Mello's smile got bigger. "I mean, they're cute animals, but I like people."

* * *

_The fire was everywhere. He couldn't escape it. The flames were engulfing his body and there was nothing he could do. The angry red and orange flames seemed to have a face, like they were grinning. Grinning maliciously at the thought of charring his body the grotesque black that he knew would come. He wanted to brush the flames away from his face, yet he knew that it would burn his hand in the process. _

"Mello!"

And he was awake. Just like that. Mello looked around and recalled that he was in Photography. He wasn't being eaten by the angry red flames that had seemed so real. Looking over to his right, Mello saw Matt, who was looking at the blonde with an expression of worry and horror.

"What is it?" Mello asked as he rubbed his eyes awake.

"Mello, are you ok?" Matt asked, a little colour coming back to his ghost-white face.

"I just had a nightmare." Mello said truthfully.

"Well, what was it?" Matt implored. "You were thrashing about, screaming…"

"I was?" Mello frowned.

"Yes." Matt nodded gravely. "You kept screaming something about fire."

"I was…" Mello remembered _that_ part of his dream.

"Mels, do you need to talk about it?" Matt asked, wondering if Mello was really and truly ok.

"No, I'm fine." Mello assured the gamer.

"You sure?" Matt didn't quite believe his best friend.

"I just need to talk about something different." Mello said. "Hey, do you wanna come over sometime this afternoon?"

Slightly taken aback by the sudden change in subject, it took Matt a while to say, "Sure. When's a good time for you?"

"Is around three ok?" Mello asked.

"Sounds good to me." Matt said.

* * *

The vermilion blood flowed down Mello's leg as the sharp blade of the knife tore the skin. After the nightmare in Photography, Mello knew that he had to cut as soon as he got home.

That had been the worst nightmare in a long time; a few years, actually. It seemed to Mello that the more he started thinking about the deadly fire and how he got his hideous scar, the dreams worsened. But why today? Why in school?

Mello didn't care about screaming and looking like an idiot in school. No. What worried Mello was the fact that the dreams were no longer at night. When he slept in school, the dreams didn't haunt Mello; he didn't dream at all, in fact. But now that this dream had occurred in school, Mello was getting worried.

Why did things have to be so confusing? As Mello slice the blade across the skin, his thoughts fell on at least half a dozen different things. How did he feel about Matt? Was he gay? And if he was, how was he going to tell his father? Would Mikami be coming back to school? If he was, would Mikami tell the whole school about Mello's father? It was so bad at that point that Mello wanted to scream, to let it all out of his system.

"Mello!"

_No, not him…_

Looking into the mirror, Mello saw, to his horror, that none other than Matt Jeevas was standing outside the door, looking at the blonde in shocked horror.

"Mello! What the hell are you doing?" Matt demanded.

"What are you doing here, Matt?" Mello wanted to know, not moving a fraction of an inch from where he stood.

"I was coming over today, remember?" Matt reminded the blonde. "But what the hell are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing, huh?" Mello snapped back angrily.

"But why?" Matt asked desperately. "Why do you have to cut yourself, Mello?"

"Because it's the only thing that helps me." Mello admitted, washing the crimson blood from the knife.

"There has to be something else." Matt said, taking the knife from Mello's hand and laying it gently on the countertop. "Have you tried talking to anyone?"

"I told Mikami and look what happened." Mello said, trying to fight back the tears that were forming in his aquamarine eyes.

"You can talk to me, Mello!" Matt exclaimed. "You know that I'm always going to be here for you. I'd never tell anyone anything that you don't want me to tell them."

"I'm sorry, Matt." Mello said. "Really. I am. But I'm just having a hard time trusting people."

"You don't trust me." Matt said. "That's it."

"No, I do." Mello said, taking Matt by the hand to prevent him from walking out of the tiny bathroom. "Why do you think I've told you all that I've told you, Matt?"

"I honestly have no idea." Matt was obviously very cross at the blonde.

"It's because I trust you." Mello explained. "If I knew that you were going to be like Mikami, I wouldn't have told you about my father or the fact that I'm probably gay."

"Yet you kept your cutting to yourself." Matt said, trying to calm down so he wouldn't do anything rash.

"No one knows about it." Mello said. "I've tried to stop. Believe me, I have. Nothing seems to work anymore."

"Then talk to me, Mello." Matt said. "You know I'll listen."

"I've told you just about everything!" Mello exclaimed.

"What haven't you told me?" Matt wanted to know.

"About who I just _might_ have a crush on!" Mello yelled.

"Who is he?" Matt shouted.

"Why does it matter?!" Mello screamed.

Then the room became silent. Mello was shaking all over from his anger. Matt simply stood breathing heavily, trying not to yell at Mello again. He hated being angry with Mello, especially when it was over something as trivial as this. Yet, somehow, it wasn't trivial at all. Mello was cutting himself and he had to stop. Matt hadn't known Mello before Mikami had betrayed him or before the blonde had obtained his scar, but Matt wanted to know the real Mello Keehl.

"I'm sorry, Matt." Mello said softly after the silence continued for a few more moments.

"I'm the one who should apologize." Matt said in the same softness. "I just want to help you so you aren't so miserable anymore."

"I'm not always-" Mello began.

"Mels, it's obvious." Matt said. "I told you that I would be there for you no matter what and I intend to keep doing that."

"But you don't need to be." Mello said as he allowed a tear to fall from his eye and splash onto the counter.

"I'm your friend, Mello." Matt said. "That's what friends do."

**i almost cried at the end! yes, the nightmares will be explained. and yes, i did write the poems. I wrote Matt's about a guy i used to like and i wrote Mello's when i was awake the other night. Oh! I might not update for a while because i'm leaving for Ocean City, MD for about a week on teh second of july. So no updates for any of my stories. reviews help Mello stop cutting**

**next chapter: is Mikami going to their school?**


	12. New Kid and Mello's Worst Enemy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. That would be cool, wouldn't it?**

**It's Mika-chan! Wasn't that last chapter sad? this is a bit better. for anyone who cares, i have started a new MattXMello called Hold My Hand. I'm looking for ideas for future chapters, so if you want to read it, tell me what you think! on with the deadly tale!**

When he woke up the next morning, Mello found that he was back in his room, in his bed. But who had moved him? The last thing he remembered was arguing with Matt in the bathroom. That's when it hit him. Matt knew. He knew that Mello cut.

Instantaneously, Mello felt depressed all over again. It was the same feeling that he'd felt the night before. He hated this depressed feeling. It made him want to throw up, scream and cry all at the same time. But Mello had to move past that. He had school to worry about.

So ten minutes later, after feeding a very annoyed Alecto, Mello made his way down to the kitchen for breakfast. Alicia was drinking her coffee and reading the paper at the table.

"Mello, why do you need to wear a lip ring?" she asked her son, gesturing toward the jewlery on his lip.

"Because it looks cool?" Mello's reply sounded like a question.

"But why?" Alicia asked again.

"I have no idea." Mello shrugged.

Right on schedule, the doorbell rang, signalling Matt's presence. Mello went to answer the door and found the redhead standing on the steps and when he looked at the blonde, Matt's eyes quickly looked away.

"What's up, Matt?" Mello frowned, noticing the blonde's unusual behaviour.

"It's nothing, Mels." Matt said.

The two walked into the kitchen so Mello could grab a bite to eat before heading off to the torture that was school.

"So what now?" Mello asked through a spoonful of Lucky Charms.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged.

"Mello, I'm going to get ready for work." Alicia said as she set her coffee cup on the table and walked up the stairs.

"Ok, ok." Mello said.

After a few moments of boredom, the doorbell rang again. Puzzled, Mello went to see who would want to be seeing one of the Keehls so early in the morning. When he opened the door, Mello found Mikami standing on the porch, backpack slung over his shoulder with his hands in his pockets. Mello's heart skipped a beat in surprise, but he relaxed and said, "What, Mikami?"

"I just wanted to know that I'm going to be going to school with you now." Mikami said.

"Why?" Mello asked acidly, not taking his eyes off the other teen.

"I already told you, Mello." Mikami said.

"Whatever." Mello said. "I'm still having breakfast, so see ya."

"I wanted to know if you could show me where the school is?" Mikami asked. "I've never been there before and I might get lost."

Mello sighed. He _really_ didn't want to have anything to do with Teru Mikami, but on the other hand, it would be slightly cruel to let him wander around aimlessly. After a moment's thought, Mello said, "Fine. But you'd better not bug me."

"Whatever." Mikami held his hands up in mock surrender.

Mello stepped back and allowed Mikami to walk into the kitchen where Matt was reading a book that Mello knew all too well.

"You're reading _Tithe_, aren't you?" Mello said with a smile.

"It's really good." Matt said. "Corny just discovered that Kaye's a faerie."

"I'm going to get _Twilight_ at lunch today." Mello said. "Matt, this is Teru Mikami. Mikami, this is Matt."

Mikami and Matt acknowledged the other's existence by merely looking at the other and nodding before Matt's eyes darted back to his book.

"Ready to go?" Matt asked.

"I guess." Mello said as he swung his backpack over his shoulder.

And with that, the three made their way to school. Fortunately for Mello, the only thing he shared with Mikami was lunch, so he wouldn't have to deal with him very much. Matt could tell there was a lot of tension between the former friends and didn't bother trying to get the two to talk to one another.

When school finally started, Mello and Matt made their way to Classical Literature. They were supposed to be analysing a poem from Edgar Allen Poe for a grade and no one really seemed to like it. Matt was doing _Annabel Lee_ whilst Mello was doing _The Raven_.

"Why are we doing this?" Mello wanted to know as his aquamarine eyes scanned the words in front of him.

"I have no idea." Matt shook his head.

"At least that prick Mikami isn't here." Mello smiled slightly.

"Talk about tension on the way over here." Matt said.

"I know, right?" Mello nodded in agreement.

"I guess you two aren't going to be friends again." Matt assumed. "I wouldn't be either."

"Hell no." Mello shook his head.

"Mels, did you tell him about how you're gay?" Matt asked.

"I don't even know if I am yet." Mello sighed longingly. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

"I wouldn't tell him." Matt tapped his pencil on the desk in boredom. "You know what he'd do."

"Exactly." Mello said.

"Maybe he won't even talk to you." Matt shrugged.

"Matt, can we talk about something else?" Mello asked.

"Yeah, sure." Matt nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I dunno." Mello frowned as he looked at the poem again. "I want to talk about how I feel, but at the same time, I want to keep it to myself."

"That's always the hard part." Matt said.

"And how do I tell my father that I might be gay?" Mello implored. "You know what he does to me now. It'll be worse if he finds out." He looked at Matt with a look of pure terror that the gamer had never seen before. "What if he kills me, Matt?"

"He won't kill you." Matt said. "And if worse comes to worse, you can come live with me."

"Seriously?" Mello wondered if he was hearing Matt correctly.

"I don't think my parents would mind it." Matt shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"That would be sweet, though wouldn't it?" Mello smiled a smile that made the butterflies erupt in Matt's stomach.

"Oh yeah." Matt grinned in reply.

* * *

Soon enough, lunch rolled around. Matt and Mello parted with L and Light momentarily once they left WWII so Mello could get _Twilight _in the library. Mello followed Matt as the gamer went up and down the aisles of books in search of the book that he wanted Mello to read.

"Got it." Matt said as he handed Mello the somewhat thick book.

"Is it big enough?" Mello joked.

"I know you like vampires, which is what this," Matt gestured to the book in Mello's arms, "is about. Misa made me read it, but it's really good."

"I'll take your word for it." Mello grinned as he checked out his book and headed down to the cafeteria with Matt.

When they reached the usual spot, they discovered that Mikami was sitting at the table with everyone else, much to Mello's disapproval.

"So you guys went to school together?" Near asked Mello and Mikami.

The two looked at each other, exchanged arguments without words, and returned to their business.

"Yeah." Matt said, seeing that neither Mello nor Mikami was going to say anything.

"Bit of tension, ne?" Light said, his brown eyes focused on his AP Calculus work.

"You should have done that last night, Light-kun." L said to his lover.

"Sayu was blasting some of her music and I couldn't concentrate." Light scowled.

"Just yell at her." Mikami suggested.

"Then Dad starts yelling." Light said.

"A mad Soichiro is not a pretty sight." Near explained to Mikami.

"So what are we going to do now?" Mello asked, speaking for the first time.

"We eat." Misa said as she wrapped her arms around Near's waist.

"What about after school?" L asked, taking a bite of his pizza.

"I have my book." Mello replied, holding up the vampire book for all to see.

"Matt, you got him into it too?" Near's eyes found Matt's.

"You never even read it." Matt glared at the white haired boy.

"He's tried to get all of us to read it." Light told Mello. "After Misa read it, anyway."

"At least Misa was somewhat quiet about it." Near muttered under his breath.

"Shut it, _Nate_." Matt hissed at the boy, calling him the name he most detested.

"Not again." Light said, breaking up the argument.

"I think I'm going to go to the movies with my other friends." Mikami said.

"So why are we even discussing this?" Misa wanted to know, taking a drink out of her carton of chocolate milk.

"Because L brought it up." Mello said.

* * *

"What's up with Mikami and Mello?"

L and Light were suffering through AP Calculus again. They were supposed to be taking notes, but neither of the teens felt like doing so. L had noticed how tense things had been between Mello and Mikami at lunch, so he began to wonder if something was going on between the two.

"I don't think there _is_ anything." Light said.

"Light, I love you, but you can be so _dense_ sometimes." L sighed hopelessly.

"What do you mean?" Light frowned.

"People don't act that way unless something happened." L explained.

"Even if there was something, they probably wouldn't tell us what it was." Light said, pretending to take notes from the overhead in the front of the room.

"Well, _I_ think something's going on." L said.

"You think that." Light rolled his eyes at his lover.

"And I bet I'm right." L said.

"I bet you're not." Light challenged.

* * *

"So what now?"

Mello and Matt were in Photography, bored out of their minds. They had already developed their pictures, finished their bookwork and had gone through about a hundred magazines for the pictures for their magazine project. So now the teens were sitting at their seats, thinking of something to do.

"Wanna develop more pictures?" Matt offered. "It'll give us something to do."

"What the hell?" Mello shrugged as he dove into his bag for his photo paper and followed the redhead into the dark room.

Upon their entry to the darkroom, Matt and Mello discovered that they were the only ones in the room. So they chose stations next to each other to enlarge their pictures.

"So, how are you doing with the whole…thing?" Matt asked, turning on the switch at the top of the enlarging box.

"What thing?" Mello frowned, wondering what Matt could be talking about.

Yet when Matt didn't respond, Mello understood. He was talking about Mello's cutting.

"I don't really know yet." Mello said. "It hasn't even been a day."

"I guess that's true." Matt placed his slide under the light so the image was on the space underneath.

"But what am I supposed to do instead?" Mello asked and Matt noticed a slight panic in his voice. "I've been cutting for years now."

"I said you could call me anytime." Matt said. "I meant that."

"But I don't want to call you every ten minutes." Mello took his finished picture over to the first tub of developer.

"Do what I do." Matt said. "Take pens apart and put them back together."

"I've tried that." Mello said.

"Breaking any habit is hard, Mels." Matt said, joining the blonde at the tray. "You just need to stick with it."

"I know." Mello said. "I will."

**Am i right when i assume that most of my readers don't want mikami? well, he's here. I'm so sorry if i can't thank all of my reviewers by name. i have so many that i can't remember them and it would take up a lot of space...but i thank all of my reviewers and my readers for this story. having said that, reviews make Mikami a bit nicer...**

**next chapter: vacation?**


	13. Idea

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note...well, Rem wouldn't exist because i don't like her. and neither would Near.**

**It's Mika-chan! This is an important chapter. well, the end of the chapter is important. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

About a month had passed since Mikami arrived at school. Things were still very tense between Mikami and Mello, but no one tried to force them to be friends again, least of all Matt. He had seen the way that Mikami and Mello looked at each other before and didn't want to even attempt to get the two to be friends.

It was a very boring day. Nothing new at all. Matt and Mello had suffered through Classical Literature and Creative Writing had been a bore. The test for WWII was on the beginnings of the Third Reich, which was a bit interesting, but the test had been über hard.

So now the teens were eating lunch, trying to figure out what they would do with the rest of their day. Matt and Mello were planning to go music shopping at Barnes and Noble, but no one else wanted to go. That's when L had an idea.

"Do we want to hear this?" Near wondered hesitantly.

"Of course you will!" L exclaimed.

"I don't like that look, L." Matt said.

"Just tell us!" Misa exclaimed.

"You guys know how we have a week off next week?" L began.

"No, I had no idea." Mello rolled his eyes.

"I was thinking we could all go to the beach!" L exclaimed.

"Why would we do that?" Mikami wondered.

"My parents own a condo down there." L said. "And I asked my parents and they said we could go."

"I'm not doing anything." Matt said after a moment's thought.

"Sounds like a good idea." Light said.

"So when do we leave?" Mello wondered.

"Tomorrow?" L suggested.

"I'm game." Near nodded.

"Wait…" Matt frowned. "Can anyone drive?"

"I can." Mikami said.

"Oh, hell no." Mello protested at once. "There's no _way_ I'm going to be in a car with Mikami driving."

"I'm not that bad, Mello." Mikami glared at the scarred teen.

"That's what you think." Mello snapped back.

"Mello, you're going to have to live with it." Matt said. "No one else can drive."

"Ok, fine then." Mello scowled.

"How are we going to get there?" Misa frowned.

"We're going to fly." Light rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Misa wasn't very bright sometimes.

"Does anyone have a mini-van?" Near asked.

"We do." Mikami said.

"So we'll use Mikami's car then?" L said.

"Sounds like it." Matt said.

* * *

Mello was in his room reading _New Moon_, the sequel to _Twilight _when Matt arrived. The blonde marked his place before closing his book and went down the stairs to let Matt in.

"Did you ask your mom yet?" Matt asked once he was inside.

"About what?" Mello frowned.

"The beach!" Matt exclaimed, wondering how Mello could have forgotten.

"Oh, right." Mello nodded. "No, I haven't yet."

The two walked into the kitchen where Alicia was washing dishes in the sink.

"Mum, can I go to the beach with the guys next week?" Mello asked.

"All week?" Alicia asked, rinsing a dish off and placing it in the drying rack.

"That's the plan." Mello nodded. "L's parents own a condo down there and Mikami's going to drive."

"It's all right with me." Alicia said, facing the two boys. "As long as there are no drugs and no wild parties."

"Of course not." Matt shook his head.

"So I can go?" Mello asked excitedly.

"I think so." Alicia nodded. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow at…." Mello looked at Matt. "When are we leaving?"

"Around ten." Matt said.

"Just be sure you're up by then." Alicia said. "I know how late you can sleep, Mello."

"Ok, Mum." Mello said. "We're heading out, then."

The two left the kitchen and walked out of the house onto the blacktop in the direction of the mall, where Barnes and Noble was located. Matt had a few gift cards to use up and Mello wanted to look for some new music since he was tired of the old stuff on his iPod.

Upon their arrival, they looked at the manga for a few moments while Matt looked for the game guides for _The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass_ and _Final Fantasy IX_. After neither guides could be found, they went over to the music section. Matt had wandered over to the movies and found some that he wanted, but decided not to get. Mello, on the other hand, found albums from Tokio Hotel, Luna Sea, KISS and Anorexia Nervosa.

"Why didn't you get the movies?" Mello asked twenty minutes later as they were wandering around the mall.

"I didn't have enough on my gift card." Matt admitted. "I really wanted to get the new Skillet album, so I got that instead."

"What am I supposed to bring tomorrow?" Mello asked. "I haven't been to the beach in…well, a long time."

"Just normal beach stuff." Matt said as they passed by a candle shop. "Swimsuit, towels, sunscreen…I think L and Near want to play soccer while we're down there."

"I haven't played soccer in a while, either." Mello grinned sheepishly.

"I'm going to bring some games for the car." Matt said.

"For what systems?" Mello wanted to know.

"PSP, DS, GameBoy Advance…" Matt rambled off.

"As long as you don't bring your PS2 or the XBOX." Mello gave a small smile that a shiver run up Matt's spine.

"I could bring my Wii." Matt offered. "And L has a PS2 down there. I'm going to bring _Guitar Hero_ and _Kingdom Hearts II_ so you can finish it."

"I'm almost done now." Mello informed the gamer.

"Well, you can finish it down there." Matt said. "That way if you need help, you can just get me to help you with it."

"I have the guide, you know." Mello smiled.

"Oh, right." Matt said.

* * *

Alicia was in the living room reading when she heard the garage door open and close. Patrick was home and thankfully Mello wasn't. Marking her place, Alicia closed her book and met Patrick in the kitchen.

"Where's Mihael?" Patrick asked.

"He's at the mall with Matt." Alicia said. "He'll be back before ten."

"He should have told me he'd be going out." Patrick opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer.

"He did tell you." Alicia crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Remember?"

"Nope." Patrick popped the tab on the beer.

He looked over at the counter and saw bottles of sunscreen leaning innocently against the wall. Frowning, Patrick wondered why they were there. They weren't going to the beach and Alicia never worked outside. Neither did Mello. So why did Alicia have the sunscreen out?

"Alicia, why is the sunscreen on the counter?" Patrick asked as he faced his wife.

"Mello is going to the beach for a week." Alicia said.

"With who?" Patrick's cold grey eyes bore into Alicia's brown ones.

"Some of his friends." Alicia responded.

"Are any of them girls?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know!" Alicia exclaimed. "Why does it matter?"

"You know what he could be doing with other boys, Alicia." Patrick said.

"Not again, Patrick." Alicia sighed as she walked back to the living room, Patrick hot on her heels.

"Well, you know how I feel about those gays." Patrick said for what seemed like the millionth time.

"And why should you care?" Alicia glared at her husband. "Mello isn't gay."

"And what if he is?" Patrick challenged.

"It shouldn't matter anyway." Alicia's hands fell to her hips. "He's your son and you should learn to appreciate that."

"How can I appreciate the fact that my son is gay?" Patrick ploughed on.

"And how do you know this?" Alicia's eyes became slits.

"Have you noticed, Alicia, that Mihael only hangs out with other boys?" Patrick took a drink of his beer.

"I only hung out with girls but that doesn't mean I'm lesbian!" Alicia exclaimed.

"And you'd better not be." Patrick said.

Alicia rolled her eyes, but Patrick barely noticed her.

"It's just not normal." Patrick said.

"Why does it have to be this way, Patrick?" Alicia sighed. "It never used to be like this."

"You know exactly why." Patrick said.

"Mello is not the problem." Alicia glared at her husband.

"But he might as well be." Patrick said.

With that, he stormed out of the room and Alicia heard the back door open and close a few minutes later. Sighing, Alicia wondered what happened to him. Patrick Keehl never used to be like this. Something had changed him and Alicia knew full well what it was, something involving Mello. Patrick had forbidden her to tell their son what it was, but Alicia knew she had to tell him. But what would he say?

**I bet everyone wants to murder Patrick by now, huh? reviews will make Mikami drive smoother! **

**next chapter: road trip!**


	14. The Trip Begins

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or anything I mentioned.**

**It's Mika-chan! Sorry for the slow update. My Dad's been making me drive after lunch, which is my peak writing time. This is a bit shorter than usual, but I'm hoping the next chapter will be longer. On with the deadly tale!**

Matt woke up the next morning at six, unable to sleep anymore. One reason was because Sirius was licking Matt's face, trying to wake him up. Another reason was because he was too excited about the beach to sleep. He'd be with his friends for a week away from his parents. Well, he didn't really like the fact that Misa would be along, but he could put up with Near's girlfriend.

Sirius rubbed his head against Matt's arm, making sure that his master was awake. The gamer smiled and rubbed the cat on the head, causing the calico to purr like a swarm of hornets. Matt knew that Sirius would miss him and would probably be mad when he got back. Whenever Matt left for a long time, the cat got mad at the redhead and would ignore Matt for a long time. Eventually, Matt would be forgiven and Sirius would start to be friendly again.

Getting up, Matt logged onto his computer to do some last-minute things before he went on his vacation. He made some touches on an amv he was working on, checked his Xanga, commented on some profiles on his YouTube, and read some online fanfictions. He was just about to read some chapters of _Black Cat_ when he realized how late it was. Shutting off the computer, Matt finished dressing at lightning speed and dashed downstairs with his sports-bag in hand.

Matt's mother, Angela, was eating a bowl of cereal at the table when Matt arrived.

"Why so early?" Angela asked as Matt grabbed a Poptart from the pantry and sliced the wrapper with his fingernail.

"I was up and Sirius wouldn't let me go back to sleep." Matt shrugged.

"Do I need to remind you of the rules before you leave?" Angela asked her son.

"No drugs, no sex, no late-night parties…" Matt's voice was monotonous.

"Just have fun, ok?" Angela smiled a smile that matched her son's.

"You never want me to have fun." Matt scowled.

"And try not to think about Near too much." Angela knew of her son's sexual orientation and had no problem with it. Matt knew that Mello would want to be so lucky.

"How can I not?" Matt said sadly.

"Near didn't mean to hurt you, Matt." Angela said.

"Yes, he did." Matt said.

"Well, just have fun." Angela smiled.

"I'll try." Matt managed to smile.

"But I want you to call me every now and then." Angela said.

"Mom!" Matt whined.

"Just to tell me what happened." Angela said.

"Hopefully nothing bad." Matt rolled his eyes.

* * *

Everyone was at Mikami's house waiting on the front lawn for Mello and Near, who hadn't arrived yet. Misa was missing as well, but no one really missed her.

Matt was sitting on the ground; blue DS in hand, playing _Kirby Squeak Squad_ to ease his boredom. Mikami was leaning against the green minivan, just as bored as Matt. Light and L were kissing by the garage door, so they were occupied.

"Did Mello say he was going to be late?" Mikami asked the gamer.

"No, he didn't." Matt shook his head. "His snake is pretty temperamental. Maybe it took a while to feed her."

"Let the snake starve for all I care." Mikami sighed.

Matt had no comment. He didn't want to get on Mikami's bad side, especially after what he'd done to Mello.

"So what now?" Mikami asked.

"I'm playing Kirby." Matt said with just a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Again, Matt?"

Mello approached the group, backpack slung over his shoulder, carrying a sports-bag in his right hand.

"It's about time, Mello." Matt said. "We've had to deal with L and Light making out for almost ten minutes."

"Wow." Mello looked impressed. "That's a record, huh?" he looked around and noticed the absence of Near and Misa and said, "Where is everyone else?"

"No idea." Mikami said in his usual bored voice. "I hope Misa isn't coming, though."

"She's a real pain, isn't she?" Matt smiled as he turned off his DS and shoved it in his bag. Facing Mello, the gamer asked, "So your dad's letting you come?"

"Mum talked to dad. I haven't seen him since before I left for school yesterday." Mello dropped his luggage on the ground. He looked over to L and Light and said, "Think you two have had enough?"

Instantaneously, Light and L leapt apart from each other. L fell into a nearby shrub whilst Light fell hard on his back to the blacktop.

"Thanks for the warning, Mello." The raven glared at the scarred teen.

"Warning for what?"

Near ambled over to the group, luggage in tow, trying not to imagine what L and Light were just doing.

"None of your business." L stuck his tongue childishly at the seemingly younger boy.

"Where's Misa?" Light frowned, noticing that Misa was still missing.

"She can't come." Near said.

"Thank God for that." Mello smiled.

"So let's get going already." Mikami said.

It took a few minutes for the teens to load the luggage into the back of the mini-van. The backpacks for the long car trip kept getting confused with the beach stuff since nobody brought actual suitcases to store their luggage in. Soon enough, however, all the teens were sitting in the mini-van, waiting for the trip to begin.

Mikami was in the driver's seat, since he was the only one who could actually drive, with Near beside him in the passenger's seat. Light and L were in the front row whilst Mello and Matt were in the back row. It was a little cramped, but they could live with it.

"So are we all ready?" Mikami asked.

"Don't even ask that, Teru." Mello still called Mikami by his first name sometimes. "Someone will say something, then someone else will say something and then we'll never leave until next Halloween."

"Halloween?" L looked back at Mello in a puzzled manner.

"My favourite holiday." Mello grinned, making a shiver run up Matt's spine.

"So let's get started." Near never sounded enthusiastic.

Putting the car in gear, Mikami pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street for a while until they reached the highway.

"Just so you guys know, we're going to need to stop for gas before we get there." Mikami said about ten minutes after the trip began.

"Why's that?" L asked.

"Why do you think?" Light rolled his eyes.

"I dunno." The raven shrugged. "For food?"

"Yes!" Mello did a little victory dance in his seat.

"Uh…no." Mikami said simply.

"Aww, man!" Mello whined.

"We have snack food, Mells." Matt smiled.

"Sweet!" Mello grinned.

"We need to stop for gas, L." Mikami said, switching lanes.

"Oh!" L nodded.

"You're hyper today, Mello." Near observed, looking back at the blonde.

"I don't get to hang out with my friends very much." Mello explained, though Matt knew this full well. "I'm just excited."

"Does anyone want a video game?" Matt asked, reaching into his bag to pull out a huge bag of games.

"Geez, Matt!" Light exclaimed once he caught sight of the games. "How many did you bring?"

"Some for DS, GameBoy Advance, Game Boy Colour, PSP…" Matt rummaged through the bag while reciting the different game platforms.

"I have my own, thanks." L said, returning to his book.

"Matt, I brought my _Kingdom Hearts II_, so I'll finish it down there." Mello said.

"Where are you?" Matt asked.

"He's right there!" Mikami hadn't been listening the whole conversation.

"He was talking about the game, Teru." Mello glared at the obsidian-haired driver.

"Oh." Mikami said, ignoring the two again.

"They just got to Twilight Town and they met with Mickey, Hayner, Pence and Olette at the Mansion." Mello said.

"Oh, you're almost there!" Mello gasped.

"To where?" Light asked.

"The thing with Axel at the end." Matt explained.

"Oh, the part that made you cry?" Light smiled.

"You cried over a video game, Matt?" Mikami frowned.

"I liked Axel, ok?" Matt flushed slightly.

"I did too, but I didn't cry about it." L said.

"You guys are killing me, here." Mello said, though he was smiling.

"I can't play that part any more." Matt said. "I have to listen to that cut scene with my eyes shut."

"But you still hear it!" Near exclaimed. "What's the point?"

"I just can't watch it." Matt shook his head.

"Let's change the subject." Mello said. "I'll find out eventually."

"Oh, you're playing it tonight, Mells." Matt said.

"I don't want to be miserable for the rest of the trip!" Mello exclaimed.

"It's just a video game!" Mikami exclaimed.  
"Shut it, Teru." Mello glared at his former friend. "Just because _you_ have no emotions doesn't mean the rest of us don't."

"You guys really have no life, do you?" Mikami shook his head.

"What do you know?" Mello's aquamarine orbs became slits.

"I can see where this is going." Mikami sighed.

"Then why did you bring it up in the first place?" Mello hissed.

"I _didn't_, Mihael." Mikami said, calling Mello the name he so detested.

"You know I hate that, Teru." Mello continued to glare at Mikami.

"And I really hate it when you call me by my first name." Mikami said, switching lanes again.

"Ok, both of you stop it." Light was tired of being the one to break up fights.

Mello, glared at Mikami for a few more seconds before pulling his DS out of his backpack and starting to play _Call of Duty 4_.

"That's more like it." Light said once the two teens had calmed down.

The ride went pretty much in silence between Mello and Mikami. The two would talk to other passengers in the minivan, but never to each other. Matt knew what was between the two, but Light, L and Near didn't, leaving them just as confused as before.

**I don't know about you, but _I_ cried when Axel faded. Well, I still do...anyway, let me know how I'm doing! I'll do requests for people! Just message me and let me know what you'd like. Reviews make Misa stay away and not stalk people! **

**next chapter: first beach day!**


	15. Burnt Food and Piercings

**Disclaimer: I own Death Note. Not. You thought I did, didn't you? **

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! Sorry for the long wait. I've been working on a book report for a book I HATED for AP Lit. My school starts again next week...ah well. on with the deadly tale!**

After the long car ride, the teens finally arrived at the beach. Everyone grabbed their luggage from the trunk and made their way into the condo.

The walls were a very nautical shade of blue. The tiles in the small kitchen were an ivory that matched the top of the island. Green carpet stretched across the living room with blue couches on top of it. There was a coffee table in front of a striped couch and a TV was on one side of the wall.

"Wow, L." Near said as the group looked around.

"Eh, it's not much." L shrugged, completely unaware of how much the room looked like an ocean.

"I call L!" Light grabbed his boyfriend and held him by the arm.

"Mello!" Matt did the same with his best friend.

"Are these for rooms?" Near asked.

"Yep." Matt nodded.

"There's no way I'm sharing a room with Mikami." Near glared at the obsidian-haired teen.

"The beds are separate." L said. "We can push them together if you like."

"No!" Mikami and Near yelled at once.

"So what's for dinner?" Mello asked.

"I think we should take turns." Light said. "I know I can't cook very well."

"Thanks for the warning." Mikami said as he rolled his eyes.

"I'll do it tonight." Matt said, still holding on to Mello as though someone was going to abduct his best friend.

"That sounds good to me." Near said.

"Ok, let's get unpacked and we can go walking around a little." L said.

"I call this room." Matt dragged Mello into a room nearby.

"Why do we have to share a room, Matt?" Mello frowned.

"What, don't you want me?" Matt smiled, making butterflies erupt in Mello's stomach.

"No, I just-" Mello knew he shouldn't have said anything.

"Mells, you didn't bring anything to hurt yourself, did you?" Matt asked in a much softer voice and Mello understood at once what he was talking about.

"Nope." Mello popped the P.

"How long have you gone?" Matt asked.

"Umm…." Mello flushed slightly.

"Mello!" Matt gazed at the teen in horror.

"I'm sorry, Matt!" Mello exclaimed. "It's hard, you know?"

"I know it is, but I told you to call me if you felt like cutting yourself again." Matt said.

"This was three in the morning!" Mello exclaimed.

"I wouldn't have cared!" Matt's hands fell to his hips. "As long as you stop, Mells."

"I know…" Mello's eyes found the floor.

"So how bad is it?" Matt asked.

Mello lifted his shirt slightly and showed Matt the red line that ran down his ribcage.

"Doesn't it hurt, Mells?" Matt winced at the wound on the blonde.

"Not anymore." Mello said, covering the injury up.

"Well, since I'll be here all week, maybe I can help you." Matt said with a shrug, throwing his bags on one of the beds.

"I don't want to get you involved, Matt." Mello said.

"I was involved the minute I saw you cut yourself, Mells." Matt wrapped his arm around Mello's waist, sending a shiver up Mello's spine.

"Still…" Mello frowned.

"Come on, Mello! It's a vacation!" Matt exclaimed. "We're supposed to have fun here." For one reason or another, he gasped and asked, "Mello, did you bring your anti-depression stuff with you?"

"Of course I did." Mello dug through the bag until he found the bottle of pills and showed the gamer.

"That's good." Matt breathed a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't want something to happen because you didn't take your meds."

"I'll be ok, but I should take them anyway." Mello said with a nod, tossing the pills back into the bag.

"So what are we going to do now?" Matt asked, leaning against the wall.

"I dunno." Mello shrugged. "I'm just glad to be away from Mikami." He rubbed his temple and said, "It's going to be a nightmare."

"Maybe he'll lighten up while he's here." Matt yawned.

"I wouldn't count on that." Mello smiled. "Come on, let's go walking around for a bit."

"Sounds good to me." Matt said.

The two left their rooms and found Mikami and Near eating some ice cream on the island.

"Teru, we're going walking." Mello addressed the obsidian-haired teen. "And don't follow us."

"Like I wanted to." Mikami glared back.

* * *

L and Light were walking around the nearby dock, looking at the different boats and trying to decide what to do with the rest of their day.

"I still want to know what's up between Mikami and Mello." The raven crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"We've been over this, L." Light sighed.

"But there _has_ to be something to make Mello and Mikami hate each other so much!" L exclaimed.

"Or maybe it's nothing." Light pointed out. "Remember how much I used to hate you?"

"But you got over it. And I don't think you ever hated me that much." L gazed sceptically at his loved.

"Oh, I did." Light wrapped his arm around L's shoulder.

"You did?" L's eyes grew wide.

"But I don't anymore." Light smiled. "Really, L, would I go out with you if I hated you?"

"No, I guess not." L shook his head. "But I want to know why Mello and Mikami hate each other."

"Yeah, don't we all?" Light rolled his eyes.

* * *

Mikami and Near had finished their ice cream and were now watching _National Treasure_ on the TV. Near had long since noticed an odd tension in the air when Mikami and Mello were in the same room. Maybe now was his chance to ask Mikami about it.

"Hey Mikami?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going on between you and Mello?" the seemingly albino teen asked.

"Why do you ask?" Mikami wanted to know.

"You two act like you hate each other." Near explained.

"And we do." Mikami's eyes returned to the TV.

"Why?" Near implored.

"Mello probably won't want you to know. It's about him." The obsidian-haired teen said.

"So I should ask him?" Near frowned.

"I doubt he'll tell you much of anything." Mikami said. "I know he told Matt, but that's because Matt kinda found out on his own."

"Ok." Near could see he wasn't getting anywhere on the matter, so he gave up.

* * *

"Matt, you know what we should do?"

Mello and Matt were walking along the boardwalk, trying to kill time. They had forty-five minutes before Matt had to be back at the condo to fix dinner, so the teens were walking through the random shops.

"What?" Matt frowned.

"We should get our ears pierced." Mello grinned.

"Why?" Matt's green eyes widened in horror.

"Because I've been wanting to get mine done for a while." Mello smiled that smile that Matt adored.

"So why drag me into this?" Matt frowned.

"Because you'd look cute with an earring, Matt." Mello said, blushing slightly.

"If you say so…" Matt gave a short laugh. "Where are we getting them done?"

"Somewhere sanitary. I have no intention of getting AIDS while I'm down here." Mello said.

"Yeah, that's not on my list of things to do." Mello said.

The two eventually found a tattoo parlour that looked pretty hygienic and the piercings were made. Mello decided to get his left ear done almost instantaneously, but it took Matt a little longer to get the same done. Ten minutes later, both were walking out of the tattoo parlour, ears slightly red from the sudden new addition.

"I like yours, Mello!" Matt grinned.

"Have you seen _Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children_?" Mello asked.

"No, but I've played _Final Fantasy VII_." Matt shook his head.

"Well, in the movie, Cloud has an earring just like this." Mello smiled.

"Ah, ok. Yeah, I really want to watch that." Matt said.

"We can watch it at my house some time." Mello said as the two crossed the street to their side of the road. "I have it."

"Sounds good to me." Matt nodded. "We'll figure something out after we get back."

"I really liked it." Mello said. "The graphics were amazing."

"Oh, they didn't look like LEGO people?" Matt laughed.

"No, they looked like real people. Cloud looked pretty good in that." Mello said, flushing a deep shade of maroon.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, Mells!" Matt exclaimed, realizing what Mello was so embarrassed about. "There are some mighty cute boys out there."

"But I don't even know if I'm gay, Matt." Mello looked sadly at Matt. "The only guy I've ever liked was Mikami. Well, except for guys from anime and stuff like that."

"Well, that's how I figured out I was gay, Mello." Matt said. "One minute I'm straight and I see Cloud Strife in one of the better cut scenes. Next thing I know, I'm gay."

"But you're allowed to be gay." Mello said. "You're mum doesn't care." He sighed and said, "I don't think my mum would, but my dad would definitely get pissed."

"Well, he shouldn't really care about that." Matt said, crossing yet another street.

"But he does." Mello said.

"So you think you're definitely gay now?" Matt asked.

"Almost positive." Mello nodded.

"Take you're time, Mells." Matt said. "It's a big thing to get used to."

"Don't I know it?" Mello smiled.

The two made their way back to the condo, where they found Near and L playing chess whilst Mikami and Light watched _Ghost Hunters International_.

"What took you?" Mikami asked.

"We were just out walking." Mello shrugged as he sat next to Light on the couch.

"I'm making pasta for dinner, ok?" Matt asked.

"No." L frowned.

"Too bad." Matt grinned as he grabbed a box of angel hair pasta from the cupboard.

"Mello, what did you do to your ear?" Light asked.

"Matt and I got them pierced." Mello smiled.

"Seriously?" Near's eyes grew wide.

"Apparently Mello got the one that Cloud has in _Advent Children_." Matt said.

"Haven't you seen that already?" the raven asked.

"Nope." Matt shook his head.

"Holy shit!" Light exclaimed. "A video-game based movie that Matt _hasn't_ seen!"

"Why is it such a big deal?" Mikami didn't understand.

"Matt has played just about every game in existence." Mello smiled.

"And watched just about every movie based off of a video game." Near moved a pawn across the board.

"Are you going to watch it?" L asked.

"At Mello's, probably." Matt nodded, adding some water into a pot and turning the stove top on.

"So what did you get, Matt?" Near asked.

"Just a little star." Matt said. "We couldn't get anything dangly straight off."

"Man, you guys are so weird." Mikami shook his head and turned his attention back to the TV.

"Oh, what do you know, Teru?" Mello walked out to the deck where he sat watching the canal for ten minutes when Near called him inside for dinner.

"So how bad is this going to be, Matt?" Light asked as they sat down at the table.

"Well, I think I burned it a little bit, but it should be ok." Matt admitted as he forked some pasta onto the plates.

"I'm starving, so it probably won't make much of a difference." Mikami shrugged.

"I still say we should've eaten some ice cream." L frowned.

"You're going to get fat, you know." Light smiled at his boyfriend.

Mello ate a forkful of pasta before immediately spitting it back out. "What the hell, Matt?!"

"Is it that bad?" Matt bit into a piece of garlic toast that Near had prepared.

"It tastes like it was left on the stove for sixty years!" Light spat out the disgusting dinner.

"Ah well." Matt shrugged. "You can't say I didn't try."

"Let's just go out to eat." L said. "My parents left me their credit card in case we need anything."

"Sounds good to me." Mello said as the group left for a more edible dinner.

**I just beat FFVII for the first time yesterday and I watched AC again...it all makes sense now! but i've watched it so many times I have it memorized...wow. that's kinda sad, huh? Well, _I_ thought Cloud looked amazing in AC. Reno too. Well, reviews make...hmm...reviews make Mikami a little nicer.**

**next chapter: a new poem and possible soccer**


	16. Day at the Beach

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, Takada would have burned worse than she did. Although I'm glad she burned anyway.**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! This has another poem in it, but it really isn't any good. Which reminds me...Roxas' poem in chapter 29 of Roulette is getting published! I'm so happy about that. anyway, this was fun to write. on with the deadly tale!**

Mello sat bolt upright in his bed, cold sweat running down his face. It was the same nightmare again. The nightmare with the fire, where the angry red flames engulfed him and charred his body a grotesque black.

Sighing, Mello ran his fingers through his hair, trying to ignore how hot the flames had felt, how the smoke burned his nose and throat, how the dream had been a reality. A reality that he wanted to leave behind.

The turquoise eyes looked over at Matt, curled up in a ball underneath the blankets. He obviously wasn't having any nightmares. He looked so peaceful, like he was in his own little world, which made Mello wonder what was going on in his mind.

Throwing back the covers, Mello got out of bed and left the room, padding quietly to the backdoor where he walked outside and breathed in the salt air from the nearby ocean. He wanted to cut, but he willed himself to hold back, to forget about that. He _would_ stop even if it killed him.

The moon was out, a full moon, and its light reflected off the water in the canal, creating a mystical aura. It was somewhat chilling, but it felt welcoming at the same time, like the moon was trying to be comforting. Mello looked at the luminescent circle in the sky and saw the craters that were created from meteors. They must be like canyons up close.

Sighing, Mello walked off the deck and sat as close as he could to the water without falling in, the cool night air creating goose-bumps on his skin. A slight breeze made cattails move back and forth in the marsh by the nearby island. It was all comforting for one reason or another, Mello didn't know. He sat outside for a while before standing up again and walking inside.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, Mello saw that Matt was already awake. The gamer had his iPod out, playing _Misery_ very softly, and he was writing something down. When he saw that Mello was awake, he groaned and said, "So much for finishing _that_ one."

"Why?" Mello frowned, leaning on one elbow. "Why can't you finish it?"

"Because you're awake." Matt sighed.

"So?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

"I got an idea while I watched you sleep." Matt said. "And now that you're awake, I won't get that feeling."

"Oh." Mello said. "Well, can I read it anyway?"

"Why would you want to read it?" Matt queried.

"Because I do." Mello said with a small smile.

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "Ok, fine," as he passed Mello the spiral.

_Watching him sleep beside me_

_Wondering what he dreams_

_Makes me wonder how I see things._

_Does he dream the way I dream?_

_The eyes I love have vanished_

_But soon they'll reappear._

_Will I ever see what he dreams_

_As I watch him sleeping here?_

_I don't know when he'll awaken_

_But he looks so at ease._

_Maybe when he is dreaming_

_His world is full of peace_.

"It sucks, I know." Matt said when Mello had finished.

"It's pretty good." Mello said. "How long were you watching me?"

"About half an hour." Matt shrugged. "I dunno."

"What time is it?" Mello asked.

"Almost ten." Matt said. "Why were you up last night?"

Mello frowned. "You heard me?"

"Yeah. You walked outside and I heard the door shut." Matt said.

"It was the nightmare again." Mello said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Matt asked.

"No, I'm ok." Mello said. "I don't like to talk about it."

"Ok, I'm not going to force you." Matt said. "Is it the same one as before?"

"Yep." Mello said.

"The one with the fire?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Mello nodded.

"You really ought to talk about it, Mells." Matt said.

"I'm fine, Matt." Mello assured him.

"Okay, if you say so." Matt shrugged. "So what are we getting into today?"

"I think Near wants to go to the beach." Mello said.

"Sweet!" Matt grinned, turning Mello's stomach to butterflies.

"I don't feel like going to the beach, but fine." Mello managed to smile a little as well.

"That's the spirit, Mels!" Matt exclaimed. "It'll be fun."

"If you say so…" Mello sighed.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the teens were lounging around on the beach, soaking up the sun and enjoying their vacation. Light, Mello, Matt and L were playing volleyball whilst Mikami and Near were body surfing.

"Don't aim for my head, Matt!" Light shrieked when Matt slammed the ball into Light's head for the third time.

"But it's fun!" Matt grinned, throwing the ball to L so the raven could serve.

"Fun for you, torture for me." Light hissed.

"Come on, Light." Mello stretched his arms behind his head. "It didn't hurt that much."

"I'll have him throw one at you next time." Light said with all due seriousness.

"Don't you dare, Matt." Mello said with a look at the gamer.

"I won't, don't worry." Matt grinned maliciously. "L is my next target."

"No!" L wailed, throwing the ball in the air.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Mello laughed.

"No I'm not!" the raven protested.

"I wanna play!"

Near and Mikami meandered over to the group, both dripping saltwater onto the hot sand.

"Did you guys see those chicks over there?" Mikami pointed to a group of teenage girls sunbathing.

"Um, we're gay Mikami." L said, gesturing to Light.

"Same." Matt nodded.

"I'm undecided." Mello shrugged.

"I have a girlfriend." Near said.

"Man, you guys are boring, you know that?" Mikami shook his head sadly before sitting on the sidelines.

"I'm bored now." Mello complained.

"I'm going in the water." Light said.

"I'll go!" Mello exclaimed.

Light looked surprised, but said, "Sure. Whatever."

The two went into the water, which was _very_ cold after being in the hot sun for an hour. But they eventually got used to the seemingly frigid temperature and decided that they should make the most of it.

"Mello, what's up with you and Mikami?" Light asked after he jumped over a wave.

"Why do you ask?" Mello frowned.

"You two don't really get along." Light explained.

"Mikami and I knew each other when we were kids. Something happened that made us break apart." Mello said. "I don't really want to talk about why, but I'm just glad that Teru hasn't brought it up already."

"I'm assuming that it was something bad." Light said. "But I won't press you for details."

"I don't like to talk about it." Mello said before he dove into an oncoming wave to avoid having the wave crash on him.

"So what are we going to do while we're here?" Light changed the subject after Mello had resurfaced.

"I dunno." Mello shrugged, shaking the hair out of his eyes. "I'm just glad to be at a beach."

"It's a shame that Misa's not here." Light said, though he didn't sound sorry.

"I thought you couldn't stand her?" Mello frowned.

"I can't. But Near gets depressed when she's away from him." Light said. "Though I can't see why he likes her in the first place…"

"Probably for the same reason why you like L." Mello said as they jumped over a smaller wave that was forming over them.

"But Misa doesn't have panda eyes." Light pointed out.

"That would be creepy." Mello shuddered.

"And I don't want to imagine L as a blonde." Light twitched slightly.

"Let's not go there." Mello jumped another wave.

"Maybe we should actually try to ride the waves, huh?" Light's lips formed a small smile.

"That would be a good idea, huh?" Mello smiled in return.

* * *

"At least it's not too hot."

The remaining teens were on the beach doing various things. Near was building a sandcastle, L was reading a mystery novel, Matt was working on a tan, and Mikami was kicking a beach ball around.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Mikami raised his eyebrows. "I'm burning up out here!"

"Maybe you should get in the water, Mikami." Matt suggested as he poured some sunscreen in his hand and rubbed some on his chest.

"It's too cold." Mikami shook his head.

"Then quit complaining." L turned another page in his book.

A wave washed up to the shore, knocking Near's sandcastle over and reducing it to lumps of sand.

"My sandcastle!" Near wailed.

"There you go, Mikami." Matt said. "Help Near rebuild his sandcastle."

"I didn't say I was bored." Mikami said.

"Well, do it anyway." L said.

"Yes, please help!" Near cried. "I need to finish!"

"How big are you making this, anyway?" Matt looked over at the seemingly albino boy.

"It was going to be the biggest ever." Near said.

"You have a long way to go, then." L said.

"Well, I do _now_!" Near was obviously unhappy about having to rebuild his precious sandcastle.

"It's just going to get crushed again. Why bother?" Mikami lay down on the sand.

"Don't be mean, Mikami." Near glared at the obsidian-haired teen.

"What are they doing?" Matt's emerald eyes were looking at the water.

"Who?" L frowned as looked at the water as well.

"Light and Mello." Matt's voice sounded confused. "They look like they're trying to wrestle each other."

"That would be Light." L returned to his book.

"I don't want to know…" Mikami closed his eyes.

"It's probably best that you didn't." the raven nodded.

"Hey, where did all of my sea shells go?" Near looked around him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Matt looked at the smaller teen.

"I had a bucket of sea shells for my sand castle." Near explained. "But I don't see them."

"The wave probably took them." Mikami said with a shrug.

"Why is everything going wrong today?" Near's voice was full of sadness.

"Not everything has gone wrong, Near." Matt said. "Breakfast passed without any incident."

"Light almost set the condo on fire because he burnt his toast." Near said.

"Oh, right." Matt said.

"I'm not letting Light make breakfast again." Mikami said. "Or lunch or dinner, for that matter."

"He can make excellent cheesecake." L said absentmindedly.

"Oh, man, I'm hungry now." Near said.

"What time _is_ it?" Matt asked. "We've been here for a while."

"It is…1:32." Mikami said as he checked his cell phone.

"No wonder." Near said.

"I'll get Mello and Light." Matt said. "Let's head back for something to eat."

"I hate packing up." Mikami said as Matt walked off to the water.

"Is there anything you like, Mikami?" L marked his place and closed his book.

"Yes, L, there is." Mikami started shaking sand off the beach towels.

"It doesn't seem like it to me." L said.

"Oh believe me, there isn't."

Matt arrived with Mello and Light close behind him. The blonde and brunette were soaking wet and Mello looked like he'd been in the sun for too long.

"Oh, what do you know?" Mikami rolled his eyes.

"A lot, actually." Mello grinned.

"Near, what happened to your sandcastle?" Light frowned at the lump of wet sand by the white-haired boy.

"A wave destroyed it." Matt said for Near.

"Who's making lunch?" Mello asked.

"Not Light." Mikami said.

"Sure, almost setting the condo on fire automatically puts me off kitchen detail." Light rolled his eyes as he closed the large beach umbrella.

"It should." Mikami said.

"Well, that's your opinion." Light.

"Hurry up, already! I'm starving!" Mello was all ready to go.

"Okay, okay." Mikami sighed as he grabbed a lawn chair and followed everyone off the beach and back to the condo.

**I'm trying to make Mikami a little nicer, but seem mean at the same time. how's it working out? reviews make...hmmm...reviews make it that Takada never comes in the series!**

**next chapter: boardwalk!**


	17. Boardwalk

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. How cool would that be?**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! Sorry for the slow update. I had writer's block and I was bogged down with studying for AP Euro. Anyway, I hope this is an interesting chapter. Thanks to KURRYdaJIGGAmonkey for the idea for Mikami in the first section. That was interesting. on with the deadly tale!**

After a lunch of PB&J, the boys decided to stay inside for a while so they wouldn't get more sunburned then they already where, even though Near had suggested using more sunscreen. As the result, several hours later, L and Light were watching _Final Destination II_, Matt and Mello were playing BS, Mikami was doing something on his laptop and Near was playing with his handheld Pac-Man game. Every few seconds Mikami would say "delete", much to the annoyance of the other teens.

"Delete. Delete. Delete." Mikami said, pausing in between each word.

"What the hell are you doing, Mikami?" Matt demanded, peering over the obsidian-haired teen's shoulder.

"Going through my hard drive and getting rid of stuff." Mikami said.

"Can you not be so loud about it?" Mello asked.

"No, not really." Mikami smiled. "Delete."

"Dammit, Teru!" Mello yelled in aggravation.

"What, Mello?" Mikami asked in a very annoyed voice.

"Can you stop saying delete?" Mello glared at his former friend.

"No can do, Mello." Mikami grinned maliciously

"Then let's go out and do something." Matt said. "I brought my digital camera for some pictures."

"I'll go!" L offered.

"I didn't even say anything yet." Matt frowned.

"But I know what you were going to say." The raven smiled.

"Mels, do you want to go take pictures with me?" Matt asked.

"Eh, I need something to do." Mello sighed, standing up.

"Delete." Mikami grinned.

"_Shut up_!" Near and Mello yelled.

"But it's fun watching you all get so annoyed." Mikami's grin grew bigger.

"Well, stop it, ok?" Mello glared, grabbing Matt by the arm and dragging him out to the backyard by the canal.

"So where are we going to go?" L asked when he had joined the other two outside.

"Boardwalk!" Mello grinned.

"I'm guessing the boardwalk." Matt said.

"Where on the boardwalk?" L wanted to know.

"Anywhere away from Mikami." Mello said, his voice gaining a sudden aggression.

"He's back at the condo." Matt assured him. "He won't be around us."

"That being said, where do we go?" L asked again.

"I don't know! Pick somewhere!" Matt threw up his hands in frustration.

"Let's just browse through random shops." Mello suggested.

"Might I ask why?" L raised an eyebrow.

"Because _you_ have no better ideas." Matt said as he turned on the camera and focused on a statue of a dolphin on the side of the street.

"That's a boring thing to take a picture of, you know." Mello said.

"What else is there?" Matt shrugged as the group passed a nearby golf course.

"I've got it!" Mello exclaimed.

"Bad grammar?" L frowned.

"No!" Mello glared at the raven.

"What is it, Mello?" Matt sighed.

"Let's go mini-golfing tomorrow!" the blonde grinned.

"That'd be fun." Matt smiled. "I haven't played golf since I was six."

"I've never played mini-golf." L shook his head.

Mello and Matt stared at the raven, mouths agape, in disbelief. L simply stared at the other two, wondering what was so unusual about his statement.

"What?" L frowned.

"You've _never_ played mini-golf?" Matt asked.

"Nope." L shook his head.

"What kind of childhood did you _have_?!" Mello exclaimed in horror.

"Obviously not a good one." L shrugged.

"Ok, we're _definitely_ playing it tomorrow." Matt grinned, making butterflies erupt in Mello's stomach.

"But what if I'm bad at it?" L inquired as they crossed an intersection.

"That's the great thing about it." Mello said.

"What is?" L frowned.

"No one cares how bad you are at it." Matt explained to a very confused L.

"I always get the highest score." Mello chimed in.

"Don't you want that?" the raven cocked his head at a confused angle.

"Not in this case." Matt said, shaking his head. "You want to get the ball in with as few hits as you can."

"Whoever gets the lowest wins." Mello added.

"Oh, ok." L nodded.

"We'll explain the rest tomorrow." Matt said. "It's not that hard."

* * *

Back at the condo, Light had abandoned his movie and decided to watch a new one: _Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope_. He didn't really like the movie, but he needed something to do. Near was on the phone with Misa at the dock and Mikami was still deleting stuff from his laptop.

"Shut the hell up, Mikami!" Light yelled.

"No, Light, I don't think I will." Mikami grinned wickedly.

"Seriously, I'm trying to watch a movie." Light glared at the obsidian haired teen.

"You don't like _Star Wars_." Mikami challenged.

"I'm bored, ok?" Light exclaimed.

"Delete." Mikami said again.

Light responded by throwing the remote at Mikami, who promptly turned the movie off and switched to a children's channel.

"What the hell, Mikami?!" Light yelled. "I was watching that!"

"Not anymore." Mikami grinned.

"Yes, I am." Light reached across the couch and tried to wrestle Mikami for the remote. Unfortunately for Light, Mikami had thrown the remote in the air when the former had lunged at the latter.

"Just give it back, Mikami." Light hissed.

By the time Near came back inside twenty minutes later, the Yagami was lying on the floor, wrists bound with shoestring and masking tape, whilst Mikami was sitting on top of the other teen. Light was obviously making an attempt to retrieve the lost remote, but Mikami wasn't going to let that happen.

And there, in the middle of the scene, proclaiming something in Finnish, was the TV.

No wonder Near was so confused.

"I leave for an hour and this is what happens?" Near raised an eyebrow, knowing he shouldn't have left the two alone for any length of time.

"It's Mikami's fault!" Light exclaimed.

"You little liar." Mikami smiled.

"Mikami, get off Light." Near then turned his attention to the TV, which was now shouting something in Finnish. "And what _is_ this?"

"A Finnish news channel." Mikami grinned.

"Well, turn it off." Near rolled his eyes. "I'm going to play with my fire trucks."

* * *

"So why are we here again?"

L, Mello and Matt were now meandering around the boardwalk, trying to find something to do to kill time. They'd already been to an arcade where L had crushed Mello in a simulation of a race in _Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace_. Matt, however, had beaten L in a DDR challenge. L, annoyed by this fact, had decided that they should abandon arcade games completely and search for something else to do.

So now the teens were wandering around, taking in the sights and smells of the boardwalk, though some sights and smells might not be as lovely as others.

"Because L was mad that I beat him in DDR." Matt grinned.

"You cheated." L was still glowering from this fact.

"Was not!" Matt looked downright offended.

"Lighten up, L." Mello rolled his eyes.

A soft clicking sound made L and Mello turn their attention to Matt. The redhead was taking pictures of random buildings and people, such as a Sunsations and a Kite Loft.

"Don't waste the battery, Matt." Mello grabbed the camera and turned if off before tossing it back to the gamer.

"Then why bother bringing it?" Matt frowned as they walked into a shop.

It turned out that the shop they had wandered into was a jewlery shop. None of the teens liked jewlery, but they needed to do something.

Matt's emerald eyes drifted over various articles of jewlery: gold watches, silver rings, pearl necklaces, all things that he would hate to wear. Then again, girls wore a lot of jewlery, and Matt obviously wasn't a girl. The only pieces of jewlery he was wearing, in fact, were the earring in his newly pierced ear and a braided hemp bracelet on his right wrist.

After seeing the different artifacts, Matt decided that looking at the prices would be amusing. Some things were cheap, like sterling silver rings that were about thirty dollars, but others were ridiculously expensive, like a diamond necklace that cost over a thousand dollars. Matt shook his head. Why in the world would anyone pay that amount of money for something as silly as a diamond necklace? Well, he didn't wear that kind of thing, so he couldn't really judge.

"So why did we even look through there?" Mello asked ten minutes later as they walked out of the store.

"Because we needed something to do." L said.

"Let's go down to the beach so I can take pictures." Matt said.

"Matt, it's almost dark." The raven said. "You're not going to be able to get any good pictures now."

"Trust me. I can." Matt smiled.

So L and Mello followed Matt down to the beach, though Matt was a few yards ahead of the other two. The gamer had started taking pictures of the breaking waves when L and Mello reached him.

"I hope you know what you're doing." L said.

"I do." Matt said as he took another picture. "I'm going to fix any of the bad ones with Mikami's computer."

"Does he know this?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Matt said.

"Did you even bring a card reader?" L looked at the slowly sinking sun just beyond the horizon.

"Yep." Matt repeated.

"You should bring it to the beach tomorrow." Mello said, sitting down in the sand.

"I only bring it places when I know I can be with it the whole time." Matt said. "Not that I don't trust you guys. I just don't want to leave my good camera out on the beach."

"And the sand might ruin it." L added.

"Then why are we down here?" Mello questioned.

"Because I want to take pictures." Matt said as he faced the other two. "And now I'm done."

"Then let's head back." L said. "I'd like to get home sometime before midnight."

"You have plenty of time, L." Mello said, brushing the sand off of him as he stood.

* * *

Light and Mikami were, once again, in the living room. The TV was showing an episode of _South Park_, but the teens weren't really paying attention. They were seated at the coffee table, a deck of playing cards in front of them, trying to decide what to play.

"I say Egyptian Rat Screw." Mikami said.

"That's stupid, Mikami." Light said. "War is obviously the better game."

"Yeah, if you're in fifth grade." Mikami said with a snicker. "Ok, then how about Blackjack?"

"Texas Hold 'Em." Light challenged.

"Seven Card Draw." Mikami said.

"_Five_ Card Draw." Light said, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Done." Mikami started dealing out cards when Near walked into the room from the bathroom.

"What are you playing?" the seemingly albino teen asked as he started ramming his toy police car into a giant T-Rex.

"Five Card Draw." Mikami said. "Wanna play?"

"Not really." Near shook his head. "I need to call Misa in a few minutes."

"She's so annoying, Near." Light said as he examined his cards. "Why do you even go out with her?"

"Because I like her." Near said simply.

At this moment, the back door opened and Matt, Mello and L walked inside.

"What took so long?" Light asked.

"Matt stopped every five minutes for pictures." Mello said, flopping down on the couch and changed the TV station to something broadcasting in Russian.

"It wasn't that bad, you know." Matt sat down next to Mello on the couch.

"Yes, it was." L said as he sat down next to his lover and peered at the cards in his hand.

"We're going to play mini-golf tomorrow." Matt announced randomly.

"Says who?" Mikami asked.

"All of us." The raven said.

"Meaning?" Mikami raised an eyebrow.

"Me, L and Mello." Matt said.

"It'll be fun, Mikami." Near said.

"I haven't played mini-golf since Sayu's ninth birthday." Light said. "It sounds like a good idea."

"Are there any good golf places around here?" Mikami challenged.

"Were you paying attention to your surroundings when we got here, Teru?" Mello asked the obsidian-haired teen.

"Not really." Mikami shook his head. "I was trying to find the condo without running people over."

"If you were, you'd notice about a hundred mini-golf courses." L said.

"We have a lot to choose from." Near grinned.

"I guess I have no choice, do I?" Mikami sighed, his eyes returning to the cards in his hand.

"Nope!" Matt grinned.

"So its set." Mello said. "Beach in the morning and mini-golf in the afternoon."

"Oh, joy." Mikami rolled his eyes.

"You're not one for fun, are you?" Light smiled as he placed a card down on the coffee table.

Mikami shook his head and said, "No, I guess I'm not."

**I hope it was a LITTLE interesting...I have a better idea for what's going to happen in the next chapter. reviews make Mikami a little more enthusiastic.**

**next chapter: was mini-golf such a good idea?**


	18. The Joys of MiniGolf

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! There's a bit of Misa in this one, which I don't really like, but it's important. anyway...on with the deadly tale!**

After a lunch of Hot Pockets and ramen, the group of teens clambered into the mini-van in search of a golf course. The problem, however, was finding one that everyone agreed on.

"I liked the Australian one." Light said.

"Don't be ridiculous." Mello shook his head. "The haunted house thing is obviously the better choice."

"There was a prehistoric one. How about that?" Matt suggested.

"This whole thing is stupid." Mikami was still annoyed by the whole idea as he gripped the steering wheel, though the van wasn't in motion.

"You're so anti-social, Mikami." L said from the middle of the van.

"The space thing looked fun." Near said, looking up from his handheld Pac-man game.

"I have an idea!" Matt exclaimed.

"What now?" Mikami groaned.

"Let's write everyone's name on a sheet of paper, rip them up and put them in a cup or something." Matt explained. "Whoever has their name drawn chooses where we go."

"Yeah, but who has a cup on hand, Matt?" Mello pointed out.

"There's always Matt's GameBoy case." L suggested.

"But I have games in that." Matt protested.

In one swift motion, Mello grabbed the case from the redhead and dumped the contents onto the seat between them. Matt gaped at the blonde with an incredulous look as the latter tossed the case to the raven.

"Thanks, Mello." L smiled.

"Oh, no problem." Mello smiled in reply.

"Pen and paper?" L asked the group at large.

"I have crayons." Near offered.

"Near, _why_ do you have crayons?" Mikami looked back at the seemingly younger teen.

"For my colouring book." Near smiled.

Light reached into Near's backpack and produced an indigo crayon. Turning back to the group, he asked, "Paper?"

"Got it." L said as he ripped a page out of a spiral notebook that happened to be lying on the floor of the van.

"So write everyone's names down." Light said.

"Me?" L raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"

"You have the nicest handwriting." Matt said.

For one reason or another, _Für Elise _rang throughout the van. Near dove into this bag and produced his cell phone.

"What is your ringtone?" Mikami questioned the albino teen.

"It doesn't matter." Near was busy texting back to someone.

"Misa?" Matt assumed, reading the names over L's shoulder.

"She's been trying to talk to me all week." Near closed his phone and slid it into his pocket.

"Now rip them up." Light ordered as L finished writing the names.

"Why are we going through all the trouble?" Mikami demanded, going through the radio stations.

"Because we can't decide on where to go." Near said.

"And this decides?" Mikami raised an eyebrow, settling on an American country station.

"It decides who gets to decide." Matt explained, running his fingers through his wild hair.

"That makes no sense, you know." Mello couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips.

"It did and you know it." Matt leaned casually back against the seat.

"Near!" L exclaimed.

"What?" the albino teen asked.

"You get to decide." Light explained.

"Oh, hell no." Mikami shook his head. "There is no _way_ that I'm going to go play mini-golf, of all things, in a place that Near chooses."

"Just shut it already, Teru." Mello rolled his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, the boys found themselves at a space-themed mini-golf course, very much against the will of Mikami. After much protests, they had paid their entrance fee and were picking their golf clubs and coloured golf balls.

"Hurry up, Light!" Mello swung his club in a circle around him while he stood in the doorway, tossing his emerald golf ball in the air.

"I can't decide which fits better." Light was debating between a green and a blue golf club.

"It's not like you're looking for jeans or something like that." Mikami joined Mello by the doorway. "It's just a one-time thing."

"But I don't want to get one that's five inches tall, either." Light eventually decided on a green one and the group set off for the course ahead.

As soon as they stepped out onto the course, they knew they were in immediate danger of getting a seizure. Yellow and orange strobe lights flashed everywhere, which contrasted oddly to the black lights that lit the room. Models of UFOs and space ships were scattered around the course and Styrofoam planets were hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh, my God." Light covered his eyes as soon as he walked in.

"A bit bright, huh?" Mikami shook his head sadly at the scene before him.

"Let's get started already!" Near was obviously excited.

So the group made their way to the first hole. Mello accidentally hit his golf ball into a crater and had to get a new one. It took Mikami the longest to get his in: 14 hits.

"This game is rigged." Mikami declared five holes later when Matt was taking his turn.

"How is it rigged?" L frowned.

"I don't know. It just is." Mikami replied.

"Calm down, Teru." Mello said, knowing what Mikami did when he was mad.

"Got it!" Matt exclaimed joyfully. "Hole in one!"

"Nice one." Light nodded as he went up for his turn.

"This is fun." Near nodded.

"You're kidding, right?" Mikami raised an eyebrow.

"I'm bored, Mello!" Matt whined, gripping Mello by the arm, causing the blonde to flush bright scarlet.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Mello noticed a definite change in his voice.

"I dunno." Matt grinned.

"What's wrong, Mello?" Near asked as he looked at the two.

"Nothing, Near." Mello responded, trying to ignore a bright light flashing in his eyes.

"This really isn't that bad." L said as he knocked his ball into the hole. "And I'm not doing that badly, either."

"I knew you wouldn't." Light said with a smile.

"What, you've never played this before?" Mikami raised an eyebrow. "Even I've played mini-golf before."

"L's had a deprived childhood." Matt explained solemnly.

"Yeah, sure." It took Mikami seven tries to get the ball in the hole this time. It appeared that his frustration also appeared in his actions, since he seemed to focus his energy into hitting the ball as hard as he could, which would also explain why the ball was hit off the course so many times.

When the group was at the last hole, Near decided that they would do something different.

"What do you have in mind?" L asked warily.

"Whoever wins has to make dinner." Near said.

"Isn't that supposed to be whoever looses?" Matt frowned.

"But that might be Teru." Mello whispered in his ear. "That's not a good thing."

"Oh, right." Matt whispered back.

"As long as Matt doesn't cook." Light smiled slightly.

"It's not my fault, ok?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"I'm already loosing pretty badly." Mello shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter, huh?"

Light was eventually declared the winner, followed by Near, L, Matt, Mello and Mikami, to no one's surprise.

"That was so boring." Mikami said when they were on the way back to the condo.

"That's because you were so dead-set against it." Near said, his eyes on his cell phone as he texted Misa once again.

"I was not!" Mikami almost ran a red light.

"Yes you were, Teru. No calm down before you kill us all." Mello said as he looked out the back window at the plethora of oncoming cars and SUVs.

When they eventually reached the condo, it was almost three, which meant that there was some time to fill before it was time for dinner.

"Arcade!" Matt exclaimed when they walked inside.

"Do you do anything besides play video games?" Near asked, whipping his phone out again.

"No, not really." Matt grinned, making the butterflies erupt in Mello's stomach, which in turn caused his face to turn pink.

"Really, Mello, what's with you?" L looked at the blonde with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm fine, L. Seriously." Mello said, leaning against the wall.

"Well, I'm going to the arcade." Matt grabbed Mello's wrist and started to pull him to the door.

"What makes you think I want to go?" Mello protested.

"I'm making you go." Matt said before he walked out the door with Mello arguing behind him.

"Interesting…" Mikami gave a short laugh.

"There's something going on between them." Light said.

"So now what?" L asked, wrapping his arm around Light's shoulder.

"I'm going to call Misa." Near said. "She's been bugging me forever."

"That's what you get for having a high-maintenance girlfriend." Mikami said as he headed to the living room, turned on the TV and flopped down on the couch where he proceeded to watching some mindless sitcom.

* * *

When Near walked out of the condo, he decided that he'd take a walk for a while. He didn't want to go to the boardwalk because he knew that Mello and Matt would be there. He was going to be questioning Misa about the two to see if she thought they were acting unusually.

When he reached the dock, his phone vibrated in his pocket, which meant that he either had a new text message or a new message on his voicemail. It turned out that it was a new text message from none other than Misa. Shaking his head, Near deleted the message and simply called her.

"Not very patient, are you?" Near smiled when she picked up.

"_What's taken you so long to call me?"_ Misa demanded.

"We've been doing stuff. What do you expect?" Near shrugged, even though he knew Misa couldn't see him.

"_It's been boring over here, so come home soon, okay?_" Near could tell that Misa was bored.

"We should be home by Monday. You can't be that bored." Near replied.

"_I hate seeing my grandparents. Oji-san and oba-san are boring._" Misa whined.

"At least your grandparents are living." Near retorted as he watched a flock of geese flying into the island in the middle of the canal.

"_Mine are almost dead anyway. What's the point of me seeing them?_" Misa protested.

"So you spend some quality time with them before they die." Near shrugged.

"_So how are things over there?"_ Misa obviously wanted to change the subject.

"It's been pretty fun." Near replied as he sat down on the dock and hung his legs over the side. "We played mini-golf today."

"_I bet Mikami didn't like that. He's never any fun._" Misa said.

"No, he wasn't. He's complained a lot this vacation." Near brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. "It doesn't surprise me, though."

"_Are L and Light still annoying?"_ Misa didn't really like L and Light very much, but she put up with them just the same.

"No, they haven't, really. It's mainly Mikami." Near said. "I can tell Mello's making a real effort to try to put up with him, but I don't think Mikami's trying very hard to put up with Mello."

"_Is he still acting weird around Matt?"_ Misa wanted to know.

"Who?" Near questioned. "Mikami or Mello?"

"_Mello, silly!" _Near could hear Misa laugh over the phone.

"They both are acting weird around each other. Mello blushes if Matt touches him at all and Matt seems a little flinchy around Mello." Near switched hands so his left hand was now holding the phone.

"_Kinda like burning your hand on an oven?_" Misa was trying to make a comparison.

"Pretty much, yeah." Near kicked his legs back and forth over the dock as he watched the ducks swimming in the canal.

"_Any ideas?"_ Misa asked.

"On what?" Near frowned.

"_On why they're acting so weird."_ Misa said.

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure I'm right." Near said.

"_You can tell me, you know."_ Misa said.

"Misa, you know you'd tell them." Near rolled his eyes.

"_Would not!"_ Misa was clearly trying to sound angry.

"Yes, you would." Near smiled.

"_Why do you think I- oh, gotta go, Near_." Misa said. _"Oji-san wants me to go on a walk with them."_

"Have fun with that." Near gave a short laugh.

"_You can come save me anytime you want, you know._" Misa said.

"No, I'm okay here." Near said.

"_Love you, Near_." Misa said.

"Love you too, Misa." Near said before hanging up the phone and putting it in his pocket.

**Weird ending, I know. I hope the next one will be better. reviews make Near a little less annoying.**

**next chapter: heading back isn't any fun, is it?**


	19. Homeward Bound

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or anything in this. Well, I own Matt and Mello's parents and the plot, but that's about it.**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! This is an important chapter, but the REALLY important chapter will be in the next chapter or two. Probably two from now. I meant to upload this last night, but my sister was being an asshole and working on her iPod. anyway...on with the deadly tale!**

When Light awoke the next morning, he found that he was on the floor, where he had most certainly _not_ been when he had fallen asleep. Another peculiar thing was that L's head was asleep on his chest, which was almost as weird as the first.

"Come on, L. Wake up." Light said gently as he ran his fingers through the raven's hair.

L, however, did not wake up. When Light had spoken, the raven had snuggled even closer to the former. Light rolled his eyes and yelled, "Wake up, already!"

_That_ got L awake. He screamed so loud that glass would have shattered and sat bolt upright, almost smashing his forehead into the wall.

"What was that for, Light?" L glared angrily at his boyfriend.

"You wouldn't wake up." Light said as he pressed his lips to the raven's.

"This is cheating." L said breathlessly as he pulled his lips away from Light's for a devastating second.

"No it's not." Light grinned maliciously.

This went on for a few minutes, each trying to out-kiss the other before they got into the sex part of the situation. Light had slid the pants off L's hips and was working on getting the raven's shirt off in the process when the door opened and Mikami walked inside, stopping abruptly at the lewd scene before him.

"Good _God,_ what are you doing?!" Mikami shrieked.

"Having sex." Light said with a shrug as he tried to ignore L nibbling on his ear. "What does it look like?"

"Cut it out, L!" Mikami threw a stray book at the raven, knocking him square on the head. "I don't care that you're gay and all, but save the sex for some other time, huh?"

"My sincerest apologies, Mikami." L jumped into his pants once again.

"What is so important that you had to interrupt our sex?" Light crossed his arms angrily in front of his chest.

"We need to eat breakfast and pack up the van so we can get going." Mikami said. "So hurry up. And no sex this time!"

"Got it." Light said after Mikami left. L promptly started kissing the Yagami again and Light replied saying, "Not now, L."

"But Light-chan…" L only really used honorifics when he wanted something from someone.

"You don't want Mikami coming in on us again, do you?" Light started throwing his clothes in his suitcase that was really a sports bag.

"God dammit." L swore under his breath and threw a pair of shorts into his backpack.

When the teens finished packing, they threw the luggage into the back of the van and proceeded to getting breakfast. Mikami and Matt were seated at the island, Matt eating a strawberry Poptart whilst Mikami ate a granola bar.

"Where are Near and Mello?" Light frowned.

"Mells is in the shower and Near is packing up." Matt said.

"How long does it take?" L wanted to know, grabbing a Poptart.

"He has to pack up his toys." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Isn't he getting a bit old to play with toy fire trucks?" Mikami ate the last part of his granola bar.

"We don't question him. He gets mad way too easily." Light said.

"Matt has more than enough experience about that, don't you?" L smiled slightly.

"Yeah, before I knew he dated me on a dare." Matt's expression suddenly became sad.

"Wait a minute…you and Near were going out?" Mikami raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Matt nodded grimly.

"That's messed up." Mikami shook his head.

"Mikami, are you homophobic?" Matt asked.

"Why?" Mikami asked.

"Because Mello told me about why you two aren't friends anymore and I think that's a really anal reason." Matt's eyebrows furrowed.

L and Light watched the conversation between the two. They had no idea what the argument was about, but they figured that they'd probably learn sometime and that it was best to let Mikami and Matt duke it out now.

"Do you know what our old school was like?" Mikami asked.

"From what Mello has told me, yes I do." Matt glared fiercely at the obsidian-haired teen.

"And what exactly did he tell you?" Mikami returned the gamer's glare.

"I don't need to mention specifics…" Matt said with a quick glance in the direction of Light and L. "but I do know that there were a lot of people like you."

"Matt, if I was homophobic, I wouldn't be hanging out with you guys!" Mikami exclaimed.

"You didn't know about me and Near, so how could you know that most of us are gay?" Matt challenged.

"It's kinda hard not to know that L and Light are lovers, you know." Mikami retorted.

"Thanks a lot, Mikami." Light rolled his eyes.

"What are you guys arguing about?"

Mello entered the room, dragging his gym bag behind him. The group of teens looked hesitantly at each other, conversed without speaking, and decided to drop the conversation at hand.

"It's nothing, Mello." Matt said.

"If you say so." Mello shrugged.

"I thought you were in the shower?" Mikami frowned.

"There is such a thing as a short shower, Teru." Mello said before he walked outside to put his luggage in the van.

"We're dropping the subject." Light said.

"I thought that's what we decided?" Matt frowned.

"Duh!" Mikami rolled his eyes.

It wasn't long before Near was finally ready and the group of teens could start their road trip home. Near resumed his position of passenger whilst L and Light were in the middle and Matt and Mello were in the back.

"Mels, you never played _Kingdom Hearts II_." Matt said when they had been driving for about twenty minutes.

"Ah well. I'll play it when I get home." Mello shrugged. "And you need to come over and watch _Advent Children_."

"Just get him his own copy, Mello." Near said. "It'll be a lot easier."

"Than what?" Mello frowned.

"Than having Matt go over every day to watch it." Near said.

"Why would I go over to Mello's every day to watch it?" Matt frowned.

"You know you would." Light said, not looking up from _1984_.

"Yeah, that's probably true." Matt grinned, making Mello blush furiously. "What's up, Mels?" he asked after noticing the unusual shade of red on the blonde's face.

"Nothing, Matt." Mello shook his head wildly.

"You're all crazy." Mikami announced.

"Not as crazy as Manson." Light said.

"Charles or Marilyn?" Mello asked, knowing that Charles Manson was a serial killer whilst Marilyn Manson was just a creeper singer guy.

"Well, both." Light said.

"Charles Manson really was crazy, wasn't he?" Near looked up from his _Stanley _colouring book.

"I don't think so." L shook his head.

"He'd have to be to kill all those people." Mikami said.

"But the didn't actually kill them." Light pointed out. "He got his followers to do it for him."

"Because they thought he was God." Mello said, digging through his backpack for his iPod.

"He thought he was God." Mikami said. "He just told his followers that he was."

"This doesn't answer the question of whether he's insane or not." Near grabbed a purple crayon and started colouring a toucan.

"So let's go on to Marilyn Manson." Mello said. "He _has_ to be crazy after the thing with his rib."

"Why?" Light frowned. "What did he do?"

"He had one of his ribs surgically removed so he could jack off." Mikami said rather bluntly.

"My virgin ears!" Near wailed, clasping his hands to his ears.

"Uh-huh." Light looked sceptically at Mikami.

"It's true." L shrugged.

"And he looks like Orochimaru from _Naruto."_ Matt said, since the gamer was also an anime fanatic.

"Orochimaru looks more like Michael Jackson." Mello said.

"Either or." L shrugged.

"Guys, I think we should stop with this conversation." Mikami said.

"What makes you say that?" Matt raised his eyebrow.

"Because it looks like Near is having convulsions." Mikami said simply.

And indeed, Near appeared to be curled up in a ball, though he was still in his seat. His hands were over his ears and he was making odd whimpering noises.

"It's okay, Near." Light said soothingly.

"Okay, let's change subject already." Mello said. "I don't want to have to drag Near's dead body off to the woods somewhere."

* * *

Patrick Keehl stared at his wife with mixed looks of surprise and horror. He had come home from work without any problem and had gone to the second level of the split-level house to find Alicia ironing clothes in their room. He had noticed something unusual about her eyes, like she was hiding something from him. When he asked her about it, her answer caused his heart to skip a beat.

So now he was trying not to believe her. She was lying, she had to be. There was no way in hell that this could be true. It just couldn't be.

"What did you say, Alicia?" Patrick asked slowly, hoping that she'd say something different.

"I'm pregnant, Patrick." Alicia repeated.

"You're lying." Patrick said angrily.

"Why would I lie about something like this?" Alicia asked. "You know I don't lie to you."

"But why would you do this?" Patrick demanded.

"You had a part in this too." Alicia crossed her arms angrily in front of her chest.

"How long have you known?" Patrick asked quietly.

"Since this morning." Alicia said.

"And does Mihael know?" Patrick asked.

"I haven't told him yet." Alicia said, hanging up a shirt in their closet.

"And you won't tell him." Patrick said firmly.

"He's going to notice, Patrick." Alicia retorted. "He's not stupid."

"Then we're not having this baby, Alicia." Patrick said, leaning against the doorpost. "You know how I feel about kids."

"You didn't seem to mind having Mello." Alicia's eyes narrowed.

"I was young." Patrick said.

"So was I." Alicia replied.

"And I didn't understand the consequences of my actions like I do now." Patrick said.

"But we're older than when we had Mello." Alicia said as she walked into her son's room to hang up a shirt. "So it shouldn't be as hard. Not that Mello's given us many problems."

"I'll say he has." Patrick grunted before he left the room. "And I'm _not_ going to put up with another kid."

"Maybe I won't listen to you." Alicia followed him to the steps.

Patrick paused for the briefest of seconds before saying, "Well, I'll make you."

With that, his hands grabbed Alicia's arm and spun her around so that her right foot slipped off the stairs and she tumbled down until she hit the bottom, where blood started to pool around her from a laceration on the back of her head. When he noticed that she wasn't moving, Patrick calmly walked down the stairs, taking care not to step on Alicia, and walked out the front door. After a matter of moments, the engine to a Jeep could be heard coming to life and soon one more car was missing from the Keehl's driveway.

* * *

"That took forever!"

After many hours of driving-many of them in traffic- the group of boys finally reached Mikami's driveway. Near had fallen asleep in the car, causing him to knock over an open box of crayons. Of course, the seemingly albino teen had brought his 126 colour pack instead of the standard colours, so he would be a while picking up the colouring utensils.

"You know what I just realized?" Matt asked.

"What now?" L rolled his eyes as he jumped out of the van. "Hoping it's not something video game related."

"We have another month of school before we change classes." Matt said.

"You're right." Mikami said.

"I'm in the class that does the announcements." Mello grinned. "It'll be awesome."

"Do we all have the same classes again?" Light asked.

"I don't care." Came Near's agitated reply. He was obviously mad about having to pick up all of his crayons in a small space.

"We'll find out when we have to." Mello grabbed his stuff out of the back of the van. "I don't want to think about school when I'm not there."

"Well, I'm heading home." Matt said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Sirius is probably going to be furious with me."

"Go easy on him, Matt." Mello smiled. "Cats scratch."

"No kidding?" Matt smiled before walking off.

When he walked inside, he dropped his luggage to the floor and walked into the kitchen. Angela was making dinner-steak teriyaki- and had obviously been expecting her son to return home soon.

"What took so long?" Angela asked. "You were supposed to be back two hours ago."

"We got stuck in traffic." Matt grabbed a Milky Way from the cupboard.

"How was it?" Angela asked.

"Pretty fun. We went mini-golfing." Matt grinned.

"And I see your ear got a new addition." Angela shook her head, not necessarily scolding the redhead, but wondering why he would do such a thing.

"Mello and I got them done." Matt said.

"You seem to like this Mello." Angela said, measuring teriyaki sauce in a measuring cup.

"I do." Matt shrugged as his teeth sank into the chocolate candy.

"Like you did Near?" Angela raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure yet." Matt admitted.

"It's okay, Matt. You know your sexual orientation doesn't matter to me." Angela said.

"Well, I'm going up to see Sirius." Matt said, wanting to leave the subject.

"He's under your bed again." Angela said as her son walked up the stairs.

As soon as he walked into his room, the calico cat ventured forth from under the bed. Sirius acted like he hadn't seen his master in centuries.

"Yeah, I missed you, too." Matt smiled as he scratched his cat behind the ears.

Matt's cell phone rang, causing _Glass Skin_ to blast throughout the room. Sighing, Matt pulled out his phone and checked the called ID: Mello. That was odd. He just talked to Mello. What could he want?

"What's up, Mello?" Matt asked.

Matt had never heard Mello's voice so scared before this horrifying moment.

"Matt, Mum's lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs in a puddle of blood and I can't wake her up."

**:Ducks under table: It's not my fault!! So is it safe for me to assume that everyone hates Patrick now? and it gets worse later! Oops!! I wasn't supposed to say that! Anyway...reviews...it's getting harder to come up with these. Well, reviews make sure that Alicia stays alive!**

**Next chapter: hospitals can bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. **


	20. Panic

**Disclaimer: I now own Death Note, but Mello came back from the dead and killed me.**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! I sure got some reviews for the last chapter, huh? Things are about to get suspicious with the Keehls. I wonder what...well, I know what's going to happen and everyone's going to kill me, that's for sure. Shutting up now! on with the deadly tale!**

Matt could hear the sirens wailing in the direction of Mello's house. Racing down the stairs, he found Angela still fixing dinner. He rushed into the room and said, "Mello's mom is going to the hospital. I'm going down with him," and dashed out of the room leaving his mother very confused.

After running out to the driveway, Matt got his mountain bike out of the garage and raced over to the hospital, knowing that Mello would want him to be there. After parking his bike on the bike rack, the gamer sprinted inside where he found Mello leaning against the wall, his fingers drumming on his leg. Since he had known Mello for a long period of time, he knew that the blonde only did this when he was nervous. But another clue to Mello's nervousness was his eyes. The cerulean eyes were filled with confusion and hopelessness.

"How is she?" Matt asked when he reached the blonde virtually seconds later.

"She's in surgery right now. The doctors think something's wrong with her brain." Mello's voice had a definite level of panic when he spoke.

"Do you know what happened?" Matt asked, trying not to be so intrusive. "Maybe that'll help the doctors out."

"I don't know, Matt. I just walked inside and she was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood." Mello said, his voice cracking.

"Could it have been…" Matt had come to a conclusion while Mello was speaking, but he thought it was a bit hasty to be jumping to such conclusions.

"What, Matt?" Mello asked as he brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Could it have been your dad?" Matt asked.

"Probably." Mello nodded.

"Why would he do that?" Matt's eyes widened in surprise.

"I have no idea." Mello shook his head. "I mean, he's abused her to the point where she's been hospitalized before, but it's never been this bad."

So the two sat against the wall as the time ticked by, neither saying anything. Both knew that brain surgery was extensive and would certainly take a long time for the surgery to be completed. But they never would have guessed that the time spent waiting would seem so long.

After a few hours, Matt's cell phone rang. After checking the caller ID, the gamer learned that the caller was Light.

"What, Light?" Matt sighed.

"_Where are you? L and I went to your house to see if you wanted to go to the arcade and you weren't home." _Light said.

"That's because-" Matt tried to say.

"_Then your mom said something about a hospital. What's going on, Matt?" _Light demanded.

"Mello's mom is in the hospital." Matt said slowly.

"_What?! And you guys didn't think to tell us?_" Light was obviously annoyed. "_"Is she ok?"_

"She's in surgery right now. We have no idea." Matt said.

"_Well, we're coming down." _Light said. _"Mello shouldn't have to go through this by himself."_

"So what am I, Light? Nothing?" Matt furrowed his eyebrows.

"_We'll be down in a few minutes." _Light said. "_Okay?"_

"Fine." Matt turned the phone off before he turned to Mello and said, "Light and L are coming down."

"Why?" Mello asked.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged. "You know how Light is and L won't go anywhere without him."

"What about Mikami?" Matt could tell that Mello didn't want to see Mikami.

"I haven't told anyone except Light and that's because he called." Matt assured the blonde. "I know how you feel about Mikami and I don't think he'd be very caring about this situation."

Mello simply nodded, fearing that his unstable emotions might break free from his body. After a few minutes, L and Light raced into the ER and joined the other two after a few seconds.

"Have you found out anything?" L asked fearfully.

"Nothing yet." Matt said.

"Do you have any idea what's wrong?" Light wondered.

"Nope." Matt said. "They think something might be wrong with her brain, but they don't know what."

Light's eyes flashed to the blonde, who was sitting against the wall, knees drawn to his chest and his face buried in his arms. It was a secluded posture, one that people used when they were overwhelmed with something or feeling depressed. And Mello was obviously feeling both overwhelmed and depressed.

Light slowly approached the blonde, put his hand on the shoulder and said, "You okay, Mello?"

"Hmm." Came the muffled response.

"She'll be fine, Mels." Matt said.

"Do you know how many people die from brain surgery?" When Mello spoke, it sounded as if he had been crying for quite some time. "A lot."

"Your mom won't be one of those people." L said.

"How do you know that?" Mello snapped, anger, frustration and panic filling his voice. "He's done this so many times that this time could be the last-"

He stopped midsentence, realizing that he said something that shouldn't have been spoken. Though Matt understood what he was talking about, Light and L were looking at the blonde with expressions of confusion.

"Who?" L asked. "Who did what?"

"It's nothing. Forget I said anything." Mello buried his face in his arms again.

The other three, recognizing defeat, allowed Mello to be left alone. This was a sensitive situation and Mello was in no state to be questioned at the current time.

So the waiting process resumed. Light, Matt and L sat together and tried not to think that the situation was hopeless. Mello didn't move and spoke to no one. It was about an hour later before a doctor walked into the waiting room and said, "Is there a Mihael Keehl present?"

"That's me." Mello stood and nodded.

"I'm Dr. Sanders." The doctor, a female with shocking orange hair, introduced herself. "I performed the surgery on your mom."

"Is she going to be okay?" Mello asked as the other boys slowly slid out of the room, feeling that it would be very awkward if they stayed.

"She's in a coma right now." Dr. Sanders explained. "She suffered from a cerebral aneurysm from the fall."

"What does that mean?" Mello asked.

"It means that the wall of the cerebral artery in her brain was weakened, causing the blood vessel to expand." Dr. Sanders explained.

"So will she be okay?" Mello asked, trying to stop his voice from cracking.

"I've fixed the aneurysm, but I can't wake her from a coma." Dr. Sanders replied. "Do you know what the effects of a coma are?"

"Yeah." Mello nodded. "So we have to wait for her to wake up?"

"That's what it looks like." Dr. Sanders nodded as well. "Is there any way I can contact your father? I need him to sign some forms."

"He won't." Mello shook his head sadly. "I know he won't."

"Well, why not?" Dr. Sanders said.

"He doesn't care about her." Mello said with the same crestfallen voice.

"This could prove to be problematic…how old are you?" Dr. Sanders asked. "Are you legal?"

"I'm seventeen." Mello shook his head.

"I'll have to have a talk with my supervisor about this." Dr. Sanders said. "You can go see your mom now if you like. She's in room 245 on the third floor."

"Okay." Mello nodded as Dr. Sanders walked away.

"We'll wait, Mels." Matt said.

Mello nodded in response and walked off to the stairwell, leaving the three boys alone in the waiting room.

"What was he talking about, Matt?" Light wanted to know.

"When?" Matt asked as the boys sat down once more.

"When he said that it could be the last time…?" L asked.

"Oh." Matt said simply.

"What is it?" Light's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"He doesn't want anyone to know about it." Matt shook his head.

"But how do you know?" Light asked.

"By accident." Matt twisted a strand of his hair on his finger. "He'll tell you guys when he's ready. It's really hard for him to talk about."

"I'd still like to know what it is." L said, recognizing defeat.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to tell you. I'm not sure when, but he'll tell you." Matt told them.

The minutes ticked by slowly as the boys waited for Mello to return. They understood how hard it must be for the blonde to have his mother in a coma, though only Matt could comprehend how horrible Mello's life would be if Alicia died.

"I hope everything works out okay." L said.

"I have a feeling that things are going to be a _lot_ worse." Light said.

"Don't say that, Light." Matt smacked the brunette in the head.

"I didn't say I _hoped_ things would be worse!" Light exclaimed.

"Then why'd you say it?" L questioned his boyfriend.

"I don't know." Light shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Almost two in the morning." Matt checked his cell phone. "I called Mom a while ago and told her what was going on."

"What did she say?" L wanted to know.

"She understood that Mello needed me here." Matt said.

"I hope _he's_ going to be okay." L said. "He's going to go crazy if this keeps up."

"I know he will." Matt said.

"Yeah, you'd know more than anyone." Light said offhandedly.

"What's that supposed to mean, Light?" Matt frowned.

"Well, you and Mello hang out all the time. You two should see the way you interact with each other." Light explained.

Matt ignored Light's comment, though he knew it was true. He _did_ spend a lot of his time with the blonde, but that was because they were best friends. Yet Matt had to wonder if their relationship was deeper than that…

He shook his head, removing those thoughts from his head. This was _not_ the time to think about such trivial things.

"But he _will_ go crazy if he's like this for too long." L said needlessly.

"Knowing Mello's family situation, this might be the final straw." Matt said, more to himself than the other two.

"What do you mean?" Light raised an eyebrow.

"It's one of the things that he'll tell you when he's ready and one of the things I found out by accident." Matt said.

"It makes me wonder if he trusts us at all." Light said.

"He does." Matt said, twisting a strand of hair around his fingers.

"Then why doesn't he tell us important stuff?" Light wanted to know.

"Because you two are usually off doing your own thing." Matt explained. "And I'm usually there with him."

"Besides, you whine too much, Light." L said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend.

"I'd just don't like not being trusted." Light scowled.

At that moment, Mello walked back into the room, looking like he'd aged a hundred years in the span of a few hours.

"How is she, Mello?" Matt asked.

"She's still in a coma, but the doctors think she'll be out of it soon." Mello replied.

"Can they tell that?" L wondered.

"Apparently they can." Mello said, failing to stifle a huge yawn.

"Come on, let's head home. Everyone could use a few hours of sleep." Light said, pulling L off the chair he was sitting on.

"But I-" Mello started to say.

"I'm sure the doctors will call if anything changes." Matt assured Mello, taking the blonde's hand and pulling him out of the room.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Mello said slowly as he allowed the redhead to lead him out of the hospital and into the midnight city beyond the doors.

**My thanks extend to my mom for the medical help. ^_^ So no word about Alicia's fate, but it will be revealed in the next chapter. Promise! anyway...reviews will help make Mikami a little more understanding, though that's pretty much impossible.**

**next chapter: the day after is always the worst**


	21. Days After

**

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing mentioned in this story except for the obvious OCs**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! Sorry for the long wait. I was really unmotivated to write for a while. People will really want to kill me after this. Anyway....on with the deadly tale!**

It was the same dream, the dream he'd had every night since he was six when the spark started the inferno that spread the nightmare. It was the same malicious fire that was in every dream he'd had since that day, the fire that seemed to laugh every time Mello saw it. He was reliving the nightmare in his dreams and it was scarring his mind over time.

"Mello! _Mello_!"

Matt's voice? No, it couldn't be Matt. Why in the world would it be Matt? Except it was.

"Wake up, Mello! Wake up!"

And Mello was being shaken awake. Opening his eyes, he saw the emerald eyes of Matt Jeevas relax as the blonde slowly woke up.

"It's about time, Mels." Matt said with a sigh of relief.

"Sorry." Mello said.

"Why are you apologizing? It was just a nightmare." Matt said.

'Just a nightmare'. It was no ordinary nightmare; it was Mello's personal hell.

As he became more conscious, Mello noticed that he had been laying on the floor in a squashy green sleeping bag. What was the most unusual, perhaps, was the fact that he was in Matt's room. When had he gone to Matt's house? And why were his backpack and a change of clothes lying conveniently by Matt's desk?

"Matt…?"

"Yeah?" Matt turned to face the blonde as the former pulled on a pair of jeans.

"When did I…get here?" Mello asked slowly, moving Sirius from the clothes on the floor.

"You don't remember?" Matt frowned.

"No." Mello shook his head.

"Well, you _were_ pretty out of it last night. You came home after we left the hospital, remember?" Matt reminded the blonde. "You crashed as soon as you found my sleeping bag. So I went over to your house and brought your backpack and a change of clothes for today."

"How was Alecto?" Mello asked, remembering his beloved snake.

"She's fine. I fed her this morning." Matt said as he pulled on a Slipknot T-shirt.

"How do you…?" Mello frowned.

"I had to watch my cousin's python last summer, so I know all their eating habits." Matt said. "She doesn't seem to like me."

"Well, thanks." Mello said, reaching over for his skull-clad shirt.

"You up to school today?" Matt asked hesitantly.

"I don't have any choice." Mello said. "Wait a minute…"

''What? Did I forget to get something?" Matt asked, snapping the goggles on his neck.

"Does your mum know I'm here?" Mello asked.

"Yeah, she's cool with it." Matt nodded. "I explained what happened and she said it was okay for you to hang here for a while."

"But I'd be fine at my house." Mello said.

"Mels, you know you wouldn't be." Matt raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"But I feel like I'm imposing." Mello said.

"Well, you're not, so don't worry about it." Matt said. "But we _should_ worry about getting breakfast before my mom comes up here. She can get nasty when she's mad."

It took the boys a little over ten minutes to become fully dressed since Sirius had hidden Matt's earring under the dresser. Mello had to lift it up on the end so Matt could reach under and pull it out.

"You're one dead cat, Sirius." Matt glared at the calico, who seemed to be smiling at his owner.

When the teens at last reached the kitchen, with Sirius following close behind, they found Angela drinking tea as she read the newspaper.

"It's about time you two are awake." Angela said as the backpacks were set against the wall.

"Mello took a while." Matt smiled as he tossed the blonde a breakfast bar.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?" Mello asked.

"Mels, it's okay." Matt said. "You don't need to worry about it."

"Mels?" Angela looked at her son in amusement.

"It's my nickname for him." Matt explained.

"Its that weird?" Mello asked.

"Matt only gives nicknames to the people he really likes." Angela said.

"Mom!" Matt exclaimed.

"It's true." Angela shrugged. "And you two better hurry up or you'll be late."

"That would be a nice change. Or skipping entirely." Matt said darkly as he followed Mello out of the house.

* * *

The fact that it was ten in the morning didn't stop Patrick Keehl from drinking. He rarely stopped drinking, actually. So it was no surprise to find him at the Triple Races bar drinking a bottle of Heineken.

"What are you doing here so early, Patrick?" Joe, one of the regulars asked as he joined the other man. "You're usually at the Seventh Heaven right now, huh?"

"I just felt like a little change, Joe." Patrick said.

"I heard about your wife." Joe said. "You've got a bit of a temper, huh?"

"Do you know why I did that to her?" Patrick finished his beer and motioned to the bartender, Adam, to bring him another.

"No, what?" Joe asked.

"She told me that she was pregnant." Patrick said, popping the tab from the beer bottle.

"Is she now?" Adam asked as he joined in the conversation.

"She won't be anymore." Patrick said. "I hate kids."

"That's not what I heard from Alicia when she had Mello." Joe said, taking a swig from his own beer can.

"That was a completely different time, Joe, and you know it." Patrick said. "And Mihael's become disappointing."

"Now, he can't be that bad." Adam said.

"He's gay." Patrick said.

"Really now?" Joe's voice held a clear tone of surprise. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"I don't know." Patrick shrugged.

"Then how do you know that he's gay?" Adam asked.

"I can tell. He doesn't do the things that most guys do." Patrick finished the bottle of Heineken and motioned for Adam to get him yet another one.

"Your tab has got to be high by now, Pat." Adam said as he brought up the bottle.

"I don't care, Adam." Patrick started drinking the alcoholic beverage. "All I know is I need to do something with that kid. He's gone out of control for far too long."

* * *

The day seemed to drag on for Mello. First block was pretty exciting, since Matt, Mello, L and Light were in the class that did the announcements. The annoying thing was that they wouldn't be doing them just yet. They had to learn how to work the graphic machine and the cameras and the like before they could actually be in a studio. WWII was over, much to the disappointment of L, who liked to see the panzers blow up. Second block was now their English class. Fortunately, they were graced with the presence of Yagami Light, who was very good at the English language. Third block, AP Psychology, was very boring at the moment. Textbooks had been passed out and the teacher, Mr. Aiber, was droning on about why Psychology was such an important subject.

"I wish Light was here…" L sighed in his seat next to Mello.

"You see him too much anyway." Matt said, who sat on the seat opposite the raven.

"Some time apart will be good for you two." Mello said.

"Jeevas! Keehl!" Aiber shouted. "No talking."

The class continued like this until lunch, which was now third shift instead of the first.

"I hated eating so early anyway." L said as he left the room with everyone.

Misa, unfortunately, was back and had latched herself onto Near's arm. Light was munching on a carrot stick while looking agitated, most likely because he had to suffer through AP Biology away from his lover.

"It's so hard, L-kun!" Like L, Light only really used honorifics when he wanted something from someone.

"I took it last year, Light." L said. "It wasn't that hard."

"That's because you're a genius, L." Misa said as she bit into her turkey wrap.

"I'm not a genius and you know it." L said.

"Sure…" Mello smiled, something that caused Matt's stomach to suddenly fill with grasshoppers.

"Hey, does anyone know where Mikami is?" Near asked.

"I'm here, already."

Mikami was meandering over with his lunch tray of tuna casserole, a dish that most students preferred not to eat.

"What took you so long?" Misa asked.

"Sensei wanted to talk to me about something." Mikami shrugged. "I don't really know."

"You don't know why you were held back from lunch?" Light raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't really care." Mikami started eating the rancid meal.

"Matt!" Mello exclaimed.

"What?" Matt frowned.

"You know what we need to do?" Mello asked.

"Go to a water park?"

"No."

"Eat six hundred packs of sushi?"

"No."

"Get shot from a cannon?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"We need to watch _Advent Children_." Mello grinned.

"Ooh!" Misa exclaimed. "I want to watch it!"

"You've seen it a million times." Light said.

"But Cloud is _so_ sexy in it! And Kadaj and Yazoo and Rude too." Misa said.

"We can watch it at my house." Near assured her before he took a drink from his energy drink. "Matt doesn't want to watch it for the first time and hear you commenting on how hot Cloud Strife is."

"He is, but I don't want to hear about it." Matt shook his head. He turned back to Mello, who had started eating his pepperoni pizza, and said, "You have it at your house, right?"

"I can go over and get it and bring it back to your house." Mello said.

"Wait…why is Mello at your house, Matt?" Mikami asked.

"It's a long story that I don't feel like sharing at the moment, Mikami." Mello said.

"Okay then." Mikami returned to his horrendous lunch.

"So what are we going to talk about now?" Misa asked.

"Nothing related to Cloud Strife." Light said quickly.

"Or anyone else from the _Final Fantasy_ series." Near added.

_Womanizer_ could be heard, to which Mikami replied by digging out his cell-phone and started texting.

"Who's texting you?" Light asked.

"My girlfriend." Mikami answered.

"You have a girlfriend?!" L, Near, and Matt gaped at the obsidian-haired teen.

"Does she live in Canada?" Mello grinned.

"What? Where the _hell_ did you get that from?" Light exclaimed.

"Avenue Q." Mello grinned.

"I don't get it." Misa frowned.

"Don't think on it, Misa. It's confusing to me, too." Near took another swig from his energy drink.

_Lover's Requiem_ could now be heard and Mello dug into his pocket for his cell-phone.

"Yeah, it's Mello. Oh, Dr. Sanders." Mello suddenly got up and left from the table.

"What was that about?" Mikami asked.

"Mello's mom was in an accident." Light said.

"You weren't supposed to say anything, asshole!" Matt smacked the teen in the back of the head.

"Is she okay?" Misa asked.

"She was in a coma last night when we left the hospital. That's why Mello's staying at Matt's." L said. "The doctor's probably calling to tell Mello something."

"I hope nothing bad has happened." Near said.

Mello returned to the table looking grim, yet somewhat happy.

"What's up?" Light asked.

"Mum woke up. That's the good news." Mello said with a small smile.

"Hey, that's great!" Matt exclaimed.

"Then what's the bad news?" Misa asked.

"They just found out that she was pregnant." Mello said. "It didn't make it."

"Oh, that's horrible." Light said.

"Does she know yet?" Near asked.

"Yeah." Mello said. "I'm going down to talk to her after school."

"I'd like to go, Mels, but I can't." Matt said. "Mom needs me to work on updating the hardware for the computer."

"It's fine, Matt. I can go alone." Mello said.

Matt looked hesitantly at Mello and said, "If you say so."

* * *

When he walked into the hospital the second time, Mello noticed things that he hadn't when he had been there the previous night. He saw the huge line of people waiting to be admitted into the Emergency Room, smelt the blood from transfusions, heard machines and the long steady note that no one ever wanted to hear. Yet the walls inside the hospital looked far from friendly. But was a hospital ever a friendly place?

As Mello walked into Alicia's room, he knew that she really was better. Her eyes looked confused, but that was to be expected after waking up from a coma. But when she saw her son, Alicia became more alive.

"How're you doing, Mum?" Mello asked hesitantly, knowing that people who had been in comas could develop a case of amnesia.

"I'd be better if it wasn't for your father." Alicia said as she gestured to the wires and tubes coming out of her body. "Mello, I need to talk to you."

"I know, Mum." Mello said as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"You don't know this." Alicia shook her head. "No one's ever told you this."

"Is it about Dad?" Mello asked, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes.

"Yes, it is." Alicia said. "I'm going to tell you about how your father became the man he is today. And it involves you, Mello."

**Don't shoot me!!! :Ducks under table: FFVII fans know what the Seventh Heaven is. :Grin: I've been playing a lot of VII lately. And Mello's past is explained in the next chapter! Well, more like Patrick and Alicia's past. And what a story it will be! Reviews will make it seem more interesting.**

**next chapter: your parents always tell stories, but none like this**


	22. Histories

**Disclaimer: I'd like to own Death Note, but sadly, this cannot be possible**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! I got some interesting reviews for the last chapter, that's for sure. This is a VERY important chapter, since it explains why Patrick is the prick that everyone wants to kill off in one way, shape, or form. I'm glad everyone hates Patrick as much as I do. Just as a note, the stuff in italics are flashbacks. It'll make sense later. Anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

"What are you saying?" Mello asked, confused by what his mother was saying. "How does it involve me?"

"Patrick hasn't always been like the way he is now." Alicia explained.

"He used to act like a human?" Mello's voice was full of amazement.

"Actually, yes." Alicia nodded.

"But what made him change?" Mello wondered, pulling up a chair so he could sit next to the large hospital bed.

Alicia hesitated for the briefest of moments before saying, "You did."

"Me?" Mello repeated. "But what have I done?"

"We need to start from the beginning." Alicia said. "It won't make any sense to you if I just jump into the story."

"_So do we have any special plans for tonight?" Alicia asked as she walked down the school hallway to her third block class, Patrick by her side._

"_I don't know. What did you have in mind?" Patrick shrugged, lacing his fingers through hers._

"_I have to study for a Biology test." Alicia stuck out her tongue in disgust. "I swear, I _hate_ Biology."_

"_I don't think anybody does." Patrick smiled. _

"_Then why make the class if no one likes it?" Alicia mused._

"_To torture us." Patrick shrugged. "Why else?"_

"_I guess that's true." Alicia shrugged._

"_I'll come over around seven, okay?" Patrick stopped when they reached the doorway. _

"_Sounds good to me." Alicia said, giving Patrick a quick peck on the lips before walking inside the classroom._

"So you're saying that Dad could actually show some compassion?" Mello was absolutely astounded by this new information.

"Your father was a lot like you when he was your age." Alicia said.

"So then what happened?" Mello wanted to know.

"The study session didn't go quite as planned." Alicia admitted sheepishly. "You know how teenagers are…"

"I never would have imagined that between you and Dad, though." Mello found himself laughing a little bit. "But what happened?"

"_This is not good…" Alicia stood from the bathroom floor and walked out of the room, feeling as if something horrible had happened. And in a sense, something horrible _had_ happened; horrible in the sense that something had happened that shouldn't have happened. At least not yet, anyway. _

_Alicia knew what the problem was. She recognized the symptoms from her Health class back in freshman year. Of course, she could be wrong, but everything pointed to that one answer, the answer that she wanted to be wrong. But the only way to be sure was to take a test, just to be on the safe side. _

_Ten minutes later, Alicia found herself back in the bathroom, EPT in hand, waiting for the results. She was as nervous as hell and it was obvious by the way her hands were shaking so violently. After about thirty seconds, a symbol appeared on the applicator: a tiny plus sign._

_So she had been right. _

_But what was she going to do about it? Her parents would certainly find out. It was very hard to hide a pregnancy, especially later. She knew that she had to tell Patrick, since she was positive that he was the father. But how would he react? Would he leave her like most teenage boys did or would he stick around? Part of her was afraid to know, yet she knew that she had to tell him. It wasn't like he wasn't going to find out._

_So Alicia met with Patrick later that night at a nearby park, hiding from the dismal rain under an oak tree. When she saw him, she suddenly felt like walking off. She wasn't ready to tell him. Not yet. But she had to tell him. And it was better that he heard the truth from her than hearing it from someone else._

"_Why the secret meeting, Alicia?" Patrick asked, though he was smiling._

"_I have something to tell you." Alicia responded._

"_Okay." Patrick nodded._

"_Something important." Alicia continued._

"_All right." Patrick nodded again._

"_Really important." Alicia went on._

"_What is it, Alicia?" Patrick frowned, noticing that something was different. "What aren't you telling me?"_

"_That I'm pregnant." Alicia said._

_Patrick didn't respond right away. He stared at Alicia with a look of confusion, as if he didn't believe a word she was saying. But when he saw the seriousness in her chocolate eyes, he was forced to accept the truth._

"_How long have you known?" Patrick asked, his voice sounding unusually strange._

"_Since this morning." Alicia replied. "What are we going to do, Patrick?"_

"_Nothing." Patrick said simply._

"_Nothing?" Alicia repeated. "We can't sit around and do nothing. I can't have a baby at seventeen. You do know that, right?"_

"_Of course, you can." Patrick gently brushed a strand of her hair out her eyes._

"_No, I can't." Alicia said firmly. "I have to finish high school, then college…I have my whole life ahead of me."_

"_And would the fact that you're pregnant have stopped you at any other time?" Patrick questioned. "I have my life ahead of me, too. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to abandon everything just yet." He held her hand and laced his fingers through his. "We _will_ finish high school. We _will_ have a life beyond this."_

"_But I…" Alicia started to say._

"_And don't think that I'm going to leave, Alicia. I told you I'd stick around if this happened, right?" Patrick's eyes were full of seriousness. _

"_But I thought…" Alicia began._

"_That I'd leave?" Patrick finished her sentence. "Do I really seem like that kind of guy, Alicia?"_

"_No, but-" Alicia tried to say._

"_Then don't worry about it. We'll take things one step at a time." Patrick assured her. ""We can make it through, Alicia. I know we can."_

"You were never supposed to exist, Mello." Alicia said grimly. "At least not then."

Mello didn't have anything to say. What _could_ you say after hearing something like that? If it hadn't been that one time, Mello might not be alive.

"I know what you're thinking, Mello." Alicia said, reading the expression on her son's face.

"Why didn't you just give me up or something?" Mello asked. "That would have been so much simpler."

"Because I didn't think that was right. My mother never knew her biological parents and she didn't turn out to be the best mother in the world." Alicia explained. "She wanted me to get an abortion, but I couldn't do that. I don't see how anyone could."

"But you could've-" Mello started to say.

"But I didn't." Alicia said. "And I've never regretted having you, Mello."

"Apparently Dad does." Mello muttered under his breath. "But what made him like this? It wasn't just me."

"He didn't like the stress you caused. He didn't realize how much work a baby was." Alicia answered, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "The sleep deprivation was probably the worst. And you know how he gets when he hasn't had sleep for a while."

"So he started abusing you?" Mello questioned. "But why didn't you do anything?"

"When he first started, you were only a few months old. You were crying because I had your favourite stuffed animal in the wash and you wanted to play with it." Alicia explained. "Patrick had been up until about four in the morning trying to get you to go to sleep and he'd had enough. So he just slapped me and stalked off." She sighed and said, "I thought that he was just tired an angry. But it kept happening over and over again."

"And then he started abusing you, Mello. I didn't realize that it was him at first. You were always falling down when you were learning how to walk, especially when you tried to run. It wasn't until I saw him hit you that I understood how you got all those bruises." Alicia continued. "So I tried to talk to him about it, but he just got worse. And then we had the fire incident…"

"That was partially my fault." Mello said.

"It had nothing to do with you, Mello. Don't let me hear you say that." Alicia said fiercely.

"But you didn't do anything about it." Mello said.

"There was an investigation." Alicia shook her head. "You were too young to remember it."

"What did they do?" Mello wanted to know.

"They inspected the backyard and the evidence. They examined your face, remember?" Alicia asked. "But they ruled it as an accident."

"Some accident." Mello muttered darkly.

"He really does love you, you know." Alicia told him.

"Like hell he does." Mello said.

"Language, Mello." Alicia warned.

"How can you say that, Mum?" Mello questioned. "Would a loving father do this to his wife and son? I don't think so."

"I suppose I should have said that he _did_ love you. I know he did." Alicia said. "He just wasn't ready to be a father so soon."

"So is that why he did this to you?" Mello asked. "Because he thought that it would happen all over again?"

"I was going to tell you the truth, Mello. Everything I've already told you." Alicia answered.

"We need to do something, Mum." Mello said. "This can't keep happening. I can't stand much more and I know you can't."

"I've already done all I could." Alicia told him. "Patrick is very good at making the injuries look like accidents."

"Isn't that the truth…" Mello murmured.

"You're a lot like him, you know." Alicia said. "When he was your age."

"What do you mean?" Mello frowned.

"The way you look directly at someone when you're talking to them, your physical build, you look so much like him." Alicia explained. "Except for your eyes."

"Well, we've never been able to figure that out, now have we?" Mello smiled.

"But do you understand now, Mello? Your father never used to be this way." Alicia said. "You would be surprised if you saw the man he once was."

Mello nodded slowly, trying to de-rail his current train of thought.

"Something's still bothering you." Alicia said. "I know that look."

"It's nothing, Mum." Mello said.

"What is it?" Alicia asked.

"Something got me thinking when we were talking about Dad. Something about how he feels about…certain people." Mello explained.

"What type of people?" Alicia wanted to know.

"You kind of already know this, but I think I understand completely now." Mello didn't completely answer his mother's question.

"What's going on, Mello?" Alicia frowned.

"I think I'm gay." Mello admitted.

"You've told me." Alicia said.

"But then I wasn't sure if I was or not." Mello clarified. "Now I'm almost positive I am."

"And you need to make sure that you're allowed to be what you are." Alicia confirmed.

"Basically, yeah." Mello nodded sheepishly.

"Mello, you know I don't care. As long as you don't fall in love with an animal, I'm perfectly okay with your sexual orientation." Alicia assured him.

"I don't think I'd fall for a sheep or something like that." Mello smiled. "But it's okay? Some guys get kicked out of their houses because of it."

"You won't, Mello." Alicia told him. "But don't tell Patrick. You know what he'll do."

"He suspects it already." Mello said. "Why do you think I haven't been bringing many guy friends over?"

"That's a wise decision." Alicia nodded. "So…who is he?"

"Do I really have to say?" Mello started flushing furiously.

"Not if it'll embarrass you." Alicia said.

"I might as well. You'll find out, anyway." Mello sighed. "It's Matt."

"The boy who lives a few streets over?" Alicia asked.

"The one who comes over every morning before school." Mello's face somehow turned a deeper shade of maroon.

"He seems like a nice enough boy." Alicia smiled. "I'd have to put my foot down if you had fallen for a drug dealer or something like that."

"But don't say anything, okay?" Mello asked. "He doesn't know yet."

"I won't say a word." Alicia promised. "At least I know that you won't have a kind of life like mine. It's impossible for a man to get pregnant."

"There's the silver lining, huh?" Mello smiled.

"There's always a silver lining." Alicia nodded.

So the two continued to talk about different things, but mostly about Matt since Alicia wanted to know everything about the boy her son was interested in. The tension that was in the room before had evanesced and it seemed easier to breathe for Mello. He wasn't drowning in the confusion that had been created when his mother was telling her story. And it all made sense somehow.

**Wow. Interesting chapter, ne? It was so hard to write Patrick as a teenager. But it all makes sense now, doesn't it? reviews...reviews will make...damn these are getting hard to come up with...reviews will make sure that Misa is less annoying!**

**next chapter: starting over**


	23. Moving on

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, I would have made the rules for the Death Note easier to understand**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! What a lot of reviews for the last chapter! I hope this is going to be better than the last one....on with the deadly tale!**

Things slowly returned to normal as time passed. Patrick returned the day after Alicia left the hospital. _That_ was an awkward situation. Mello spent more time than usual in his room with Alecto and she seemed to appreciate the company.

One Monday morning in February, the teens were having some problems regarding the announcements. A short blonde girl named Ayame had printed out the scripts, but the camera shots were messed up as well as the graphic cues. When the anchors were supposed to be talking about the upcoming swim meet, she wrote that the graphic was supposed to be of a Japanese crane. Light, who was in charge of the graphics for the day, was having a hard time telling her why a crane graphic didn't make sense for the swim meet.

"Are there going to be cranes at the meet, Ayame?" Light questioned.

"No, but I like cranes." Ayame said.

"That's not the point." Mello said from camera two where he was adjusting his shot on Ryoko, one of the anchors. "And where's Matt? He's supposed to be floor manager today."

"He's showing L how to run the prompter." Ayame said, knowing that everyone in the studio understood that the prompter was the teleprompter.

"Well, he needs to get in here." Mello said. "I hate being on headset."

"Back to the subject at hand, it won't work, Ayame." Light said. "And look! You have a computer graphic for the announcement about the Safe and Sane meeting!"

"It makes sense." Ayame shrugged.

"No, it doesn't!" Light exclaimed. "Mello, who's directing today?"

"Saki." Mello replied as he adjusted the audio level on the headset.

"Argue about it with him. I need to at least get the banners set." Light said, walking back into the control room.

"And tell Matt to get his ass out here!" Mello yelled.

"_I'm right here, you know_." Matt's voice came over the headset.

"What the hell's taking you so long?" Mello demanded. "And where's Aiden? He's running the other camera, isn't he?"

"_He had to talk to Mikatsuki-sensei about something. He's coming back."_ Matt replied. _"And so am I."_

"Well, hurry up. And can you have Akahiro do a mike check?" Mello asked.

"_You sound like you should be directing, Mels_." Mello could hear the laughter in Matt's voice before the redhead handed the headset over to Saki and walked out to the studio.

"It's taking forever! I want to get a run-through done so I can finish my homework." Mello said.

"For English?" Matt assumed as he snapped on the headset.

"Who expects anyone to be able to translate twenty pages of _The Taming of the Shrew_ in a night?" Mello rolled his eyes. "It's practically inhumane."

"Yeah, it is." Matt shrugged. "Ryoko, start a mike check." He told Ryoko, one of the anchors.

"Did you finish yours?" Mello asked.

"Didn't do it either." Matt grinned.

"_Matt, tell Mello that the shot on Tomoyuri is a lower third." _Saki asked on the headset.

"I can hear you, Saki." Mello said. "I'll fix it."

"How's Light coming with the graphics?" Matt asked.

"Not very well." Aiden said as he entered, brushing the auburn hair out of his obsidian eyes.

"Is he still arguing with Ayame about it?" Mello frowned. "Why does she care? She's running switcher, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but she's a perfectionist." Aiden shrugged. "You know how it goes."

"At least she's not like Arisawa." Matt shuddered. "She's the devil's sister, I tell you."

"Don't we know it?" Mello smiled.

"She yelled at me because I was wearing orange one day." Aiden said.

"Talking about Arisawa, are we?" Tomoyuri asked from the anchor desk.

"Who else?" Aiden questioned.

"We used to be best friends in elementary school." Tomoyuri said, spinning around in her seat.

"Seriously?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. But then she turned into a bitch and we haven't talked since." Tomoyuri shook her head.

"I wonder why." Mello said as he tried to ignore Saki's argument with L in the control room.

"Saki, what are you arguing about?" Matt wanted to know.

"_L thinks that we should do the _Titanic_ intro. Since I'm director, I get to choose and I want to do _Star Wars_." _Saki said over the headset.

"Then do the _Star Wars_ one." Aiden said, having finally put on his headset.

"Arguing about intros?" Tomoyuri assumed.

"Go figure, right?" Matt smiled.

"Seriously, what's taking so long?" Mello demanded. "We can do a run-through without intro, so what's holding us up?"

"_Light's still trying to find the graphics." _Saki said.

"Tell him to hurry up or I'm taking L away from him." Matt said.

"_You can't do that_." Saki said.

"But he doesn't know that." Matt said deviously.

In the end, it took almost twenty minutes to finish one run-through. Ayame kept yelling at Light about the graphics and Ryoko had a sneezing fit in the middle of the announcement for the school play. Then the prompter started acting up, which it so often did, and stalled the process for another ten minutes while Saki, having experience with the program, helped L fix it.

"That took _way_ too long." Mello complained as the walked out of the studio for second block.

"I say we should kick Ayame out of the class." Light was still mad about the graphics problem.

"We just can't let her write the script again." L shrugged. "And they didn't even make sense anyway."

"At least Ryoko didn't sound like a drunkard this time." Matt said.

"He was sick that time." Light pointed out.

"Oh, he was?" Matt frowned.

"Why do you think he looked so bad?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged. "I guess I figured that he hadn't gotten much sleep."

English was always a bore. That was pretty much a given. And the fact that it was hard for Japanese people to say the letter L made the class that much worse.

"You just have to practice." Light had said one day.

"Yeah, but who really has time for that?" Mello had replied.

So now the teens were in groups translating the first chapter of _Memoirs of a Geisha_ into Japanese. Unfortunately, the groups were already decided and no one was allowed to switch. L and Light were working together while Mello worked with a boy named Ryuichi and Matt worked with Karin, a girl that he'd had in several classes and knew fairly well.

"I hate this class…" Matt grumbled.

"It's pointless, isn't it?" Karin shook her head.

"Well, we'll probably use the language someday, but does it have to be so damn hard?" Matt scratched out a line and continued.

"That's what people who speak English say about our language." Karin pointed out.

"It's not that hard. But maybe that's because we grew up speaking it." Matt asked. "Hey, this word means 'friend', right?"

"Yep." Karin nodded. "And why does Mello Keehl keep staring at you?"

"He is?" Matt frowned.

Looking across the room, Matt saw that Mello was indeed watching him. But when the blonde realized that Matt had spotted him, he turned back to his work.

"I never noticed before." Matt shrugged.

"And you stare at him a lot, too." Karin observed, using her Japanese-English dictionary to look up a word. "Is something going on between you two?"

"He's my best friend. That's it." Matt said, though he knew that this was a lie.

"If you say so." Karin said with a smile.

"Why do girls always notice these things so well?" Matt wanted to know.

"I don't know. It's just obvious, I guess." Karin shrugged.

AP Psychology was a little interesting. The previous week, they had been discussing different types of dementia. The notes of the day were on Tourette's, a mental illness where the afflicted yells random obscenities which were sometimes combined with odd muscle spasms.

"At least we're not talking about something boring." L said, scribbling down the notes on the overhead.

"I'd rather be playing _Resident Evil III_." Matt said.

"You play too many video games, Matt." Mello said.

"Do not!" Matt yelled.

"And there is a wonderful example of Tourette's." Aiber said from the front of the room, gesturing to Matt. "Mr. Jeevas, just what were you yelling about?"

"Nothing, sir." Matt said. "Just a little argument."

"Well, you'll have to continue it later." Aiber said while Matt shot a glare at Mello.

When lunch rolled around, the boys noticed a new face at their usual lunch table. Sitting next to Mikami was a girl with piercing green eyes and jet-black hair that fell to the middle of her back. She didn't look most of the girls in the school in terms of fashion, but she seemed to pull the look off very well.

"Who's this, Teru?" Mello asked as he joined the table with everyone else.

"This is Sakuya." Mikami said. "My girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend?" Near raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Mikami said with a nod.

"So did you just move here or something?" Mello asked the new girl.

"Transferred." Sakuya replied. "I went to the high school on the other side of town. But it got overpopulated, so they sent some kids to other schools."

"I would rather be at the other school." Light sighed, taking a drink from his bottle of Gatorade.

"But you've never been there." Sakuya frowned.

"Doesn't matter." Light shook his head. "This place is horrible."

"Oh, and she might be doing the announcements with you guys." Mikami said to Light, Matt, Mello and L.

"So we'll see you on TV?" Misa asked through a mouthful of strawberry shortcake.

"Probably not." Sakuya shook her head. "I hate being on camera."

"You picked the wrong class, then." Near said.

"Why's that?" Sakuya frowned.

"Everyone has to be on camera at least once." Misa explained.

"Seriously?" Mello frowned, biting into a stick of celery. "I didn't know that."

"Did you pay attention at all during the first day?" Light questioned.

"I had other things to think about." Mello said so fiercely that Light didn't respond.

"Camera stuff is easy." Misa grinned.

"How would you know?" Matt frowned.

"Misa and I took the class last year." Near replied. "One semester was enough."

"I like it." Light said. "Except for Ayame."

"Oh, she's a bitch." Mello shuddered.

"It's not all that bad." L said to Sakuya, who was starting to look very confused.

"I hope not." Sakuya said.

* * *

"Hey, Mello, can I talk to you?"

The bell for the end of third block signalled the time where it was almost impossible to move through the hallways for the sea of people. Mello had started to walk to AP European History, but Matt had grabbed his backpack in an attempt to hold him back.

"About what?" Mello frowned.

"You seem different lately." Matt said, leading the blonde out into the crowded hall. "I wanted to know if something was wrong."

"How do I seem different?" Mello wanted to know, ignoring a group of girls talking by a set of lockers.

"You seem depressed. And you're spacing out." Matt said. "You've been odd since you saw your mom in the hospital. Did something happen?"

Mello hesitated for a minute and said, "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Matt asked.

"I do, but I don't." Mello said. "I know I need to, but I'm not sure if I can."

"You can tell me if you need to. You know I'll listen." Matt said.

Mello thought for a moment before grabbing Matt by the arm and dragging him into the boy's bathroom.

"I guess you're telling me?" Matt assumed.

"But you can't tell anyone." Mello said.

"I don't tell secrets, Mels." Matt said, sliding down to the floor against the wall. "So what happened?"

Mello wasn't sure how to begin, so he said, "Mum told me about Dad."

"What about him?" Matt asked.

"That he used to be…human." Mello sank to the floor next to the redhead.

"What do you mean?" Matt frowned.

"He wasn't always the abusive father that I've known. And I'm the reason why he's so abusive." Mello said.

"No, you're not, Mels." Matt said.

So Mello launched into the story without hesitation. He didn't worry that Matt might think that he was exaggerating. He didn't worry that Matt would think he was stupid. Because Matt didn't do things like that.

"Wow." Matt said when Mello finished telling his story.

"I wasn't supposed to exist, Matt." Mello said sadly. "What do you do after hearing something like that?"

"Of course you were supposed to exist." Matt said.

"I was an accident, Matt. She said as much herself." Mello sighed.

"I meant that maybe you were supposed to exist later. When your parents were a bit older." Matt explained. "But things happened that shouldn't have happened and now you're here. There's nothing you can do now or anything you could have done back then that could change that."

"But I'm the reason why my Dad's such an asshole now." Mello went on, his head in his arms. "How can I live knowing that?"

"I guess you'll have to learn to forget it." Matt shrugged. "Maybe you won't forget it entirely, but you can at least learn to live with the truth. And I don't mean to sound rude when I say that, Mello."

"I know you don't." Mello said.

"Something's still wrong." Matt said. "There's something you're not telling me."

Mello sighed and said, "You know how Mum was pregnant, right? Before Dad pushed her down the stairs?"

"Uh-huh." Matt nodded.

"Well, I've been thinking lately about what would have happened if it had lived. I could have had a brother or sister, Matt." Mello said, still refusing to meet Matt's eyes. "But now I'll never get the chance."

Matt didn't say anything. He understood what it was like to be an only child, but he'd learned to live without one. But Mello's childhood was nothing like Matt's. Mello had told him that he wanted a sibling when he was younger. Now that it was possible, it slipped from his reach like nearly everything did. So Matt wrapped his arm around Mello and waited as they felt the time pass them by.

**See? I'm getting more girls in this series! I kinda like Sakuya. And all that whatnot in the studio? That's what happens in _my_ announcements class. Well, nothing quite like what Ayame had going on, but it's just as chaotic. Anyway, reviews will make sure that Sakuya doesn't loose her sanity!**

**next chapter: movie night!**


	24. Movie Night

**Disclaimer: I only own the OCs. **

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! This is a LONG chapter, so you guys have nothing to be complaining about. It's kind of a random chapter, but I like it. On with the deadly tale!**

"I swear to God, Ayame, do you have to screw everything up?"

The next morning found the teens in the studio, once again trying to fix mistakes with the script. Ayame had been drafted to write the script again, much to everyone's annoyance and disapproval, and she had messed it up again. This time, however, she had a lower third camera shot with an over-the-shoulder graphic of a samurai sword for the announcement about the upcoming football game.

"Why in hell is she still in this class?" Matt asked from the control room, where he was directing.

"_I dunno." _Came Mello's voice from the other room where he was working camera two again. _"I guess Sensei really needs people._"

"Mels, we have more than enough people to replace her." Matt said.

"_Then I guess Sensei is just being mental again."_ Mello had started using some British slang recently and Matt still had to get used to it.

"Is L out there? He's anchor one and Sakura's ready to do a mike check. And where's Sakuya?" Matt asked.

"_In the control room with you." _Came Light's voice from the other headset on camera one.

"Ah, ok." Matt turned to Sakuya, who was talking to Kimiko and said, "We're ready, Sakuya."

"Okay." She shrugged to Kimiko and left the room for the main studio.

"At least things get done when Matt's directing." Mello said.

"I guess." Sakuya said. "And start a mike check, L."

"Okay." L said before he started counting.

"Is Ryuichi doing audio today?" Light asked.

"No, Matt said Sakura was." Mello said.

"We don't have a Sakura, Mello." Light said.

"_We don't?"_ came Matt's confused voice.

"You're thinking of Sayuri." Sakuya said.

"How would you know?" Mello asked in amazement. "You just got here!"

"I remember names really well." Sakuya shrugged before she said, "You're next, Namikawa." To the other anchor, Namikawa, for the next mike check.

"I'm bored." Mello had whipped out the twelfth volume of _Bleach_ and started to read.

"_Don't read on the job, Mello_." Matt said.

"Why not?" Mello questioned. "It's not like we're getting paid for this. And I'm bored. Tell Kimiko to get the graphics ready."

"_She _is_ ready. Aiden's having problems with the prompter again." _Matt said.

"Does he need help?" Light asked. "Saki's not here to fix it."

"_Yeah, that's probably a good thing, Light." _Matt said.

"What part are you at?" Sakuya asked Mello as Light retreated to the control room.

"Momo's just found Aizen's body." Mello said as he turned as page.

"Have you read it before?" Sakuya wondered, checking the camera shot on Light's camera.

"I've read all the ones up to date. I've been reading them online for quite some time." Mello replied.

"I'm still on the Arrancar arc." Sakuya replied.

"_That's an interesting one_." Matt jumped into the conversation.

"Why the hell are you in the conversation, Matt?" Mello wondered, facing the glass window that allowed those in the main studio to see into the control room.

"_You're on headset, remember_?" Matt smiled before turning back to the prompter computer.

"No kidding?" Mello rolled his eyes.

"Matt, tell Light to hurry up. I think Namikawa and L are getting annoyed." Sakuya said into the headset.

And indeed, L and Namikawa were looking agitated, L taking a pen out of his pocket and beginning to take it apart.

"What's the hold up?" Namikawa wondered.

"Prompter's stuck." Sakuya said.

"Not anymore." Light dashed back into the room and slammed the headset back on his head before saying, "Matt wants to do a run-through with graphics and intro."

"Which intro?" L wondered.

"I think we're doing the _RENT_ one." Light replied.

"Oh God, not that one." Namikawa groaned.

"It's not that bad." Mello started to say before he was shushed by Sakuya.

The rest of the day was just as chaotic as first block. In English, the class was split in pairs once again, this time to translate a chapter of _Jane Eyre_. Unfortunately, it was one of the longer chapters. Light and L were together again, which didn't surprise Matt and Mello in the least. Mello worked with Momo, a girl who preferred to work by herself than with a partner, whilst Matt was left to work with Karin again.

"And of course the English has to be practically archaic." Matt grumbled as he whipped out his Japanese-English dictionary.

"It's just how they spoke back then." Karin shrugged.

"Well, it's annoying." Matt scowled.

"Is everything annoying to you?" Karin wondered.

"Video games." Matt grinned.

"Go figure." Karin scribbled something down on the paper in front of her. "Mikami told me about how often you play video games."

"Mikami?" Matt frowned at her. "When do you see Mikami?"

"I have Pre-Engineering with him third block." Karin replied. "We usually have to work as a group together and he knows I have this class with you and Mello."

"He's odd, isn't he?" Matt flipped through the pages in his book.

"Who, Mikami or Mello?" Karin asked.

"Well both, but I was referring to Mikami that time." Matt said.

"Do you always call your friends odd?" Karin wondered.

"Hey, Mello admitted it himself." Matt shrugged. "What was I supposed to say?"

"That he isn't?" Karin suggested, writing something down on her paper.

"Eh, I guess I could've said that." Matt looked another word in the dictionary.

By the time lunch rolled around, Matt and Mello's brains were fried from the translations. Light and L had no problems, of course, since Light understood the language and L had grown up speaking English for a very short period of time. Mello and Matt, both having spoken Japanese from birth, quite resented the English language.

"Hey, you guys know what's coming up next week?" Near reminded the group when everyone had congregated at their usual table.

"Um…no?" Mello's response sounded like a question.

"Oh, isn't that convention next week?" Light wondered.

"Convention?" Sakuya frowned. "The anime convention?"

"Yep!" Misa nodded.

At that moment, everyone made an "oh yeah!" expression. Several months ago, Near had reminded the group that Anime Con was coming to Tokyo in the last weekend of February: the twenty-first to the twenty-second. Since it was a large-scale convention, early sign-up was recommended and everyone had registered well before the early deadline.

"Are you going, Sakuya?" Mikami hoped with every fibre of his being that his girlfriend wasn't into that kind of thing.

"Yep!" Sakuya grinned. "I'm going as Paine from _Final Fantasy X_."

"Seriously? You can't be serious, Sakuya!" Mikami was astonished that she was going.

"What's wrong with that?" Light wondered.

"I didn't think she was into that kind of thing." Mikami scowled.

"Well, then you don't know me as well as you think you do." Sakuya shrugged. "Wait, what is everyone else going as?"

"Matt and I are Sasori and Deidara from _Naruto Shippuden_." Mello smiled.

"Near's Tôshirô Hitsugaya from _Bleach_." Misa laughed.

"It's not my fault I'm small, okay?" Near snapped, biting into an apple.

"Good choice, Near." Sakuya smiled. "What about you, Misa?"

"I'm Renge from _Ouran High School Host Club_." Misa said. "Light is Uryû Ishida from _Bleach_ and L is Sasuke Uchiha from _Naruto_."

"I have no comment…" Mikami sighed.

"This'll be fun." Matt grinned.

"I don't like that look, Matt." Mello said.

"I don't care." Matt replied.

"Matt! You know what we need to do tonight?" Mello said quite randomly.

"Um…no?" Matt's response sounded like a question.

"Watch _Advent Children_." Mello smiled.

"Oh yeah!" Matt exclaimed.

"Good God, not that crap again." Mikami shuddered. "Can't you guys be normal?"

"No one says you have to hang out with us, you know." Light said.

"I'm half tempted not to." Mikami replied.

"I've never seen it." Sakuya said, taking a drink of her Mountain Dew. "Is it good?"

"It's amazing!" Misa exclaimed.

"You just like the fact that Cloud and Reno are in it." Near rolled his eyes.

"And Rude too." Misa grinned.

"Oh, how _could_ we forget?" L rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to come over and watch it?" Mello asked Sakuya. "Dad might be a little easier on me if I bring a girl over."

"Why would having Sakuya over matter?" Light wondered.

"My dad kinda thinks I'm gay." Mello admitted sheepishly. "And he hates anything homosexual."

"Are you?" Misa wondered.

"I think so." Mello nodded.

"I could have told you that." Mikami shrugged.

"Leave that out of this, Teru." Mello hissed.

"So…what's the plan?" Matt tried to bring the conversation back on track.

"You're more than welcome to come over if you like, Sakuya." Mello said biting into his sandwich. "Matt's already coming over, so it won't be like you're the only one there."

"If it's okay with you." Sakuya said.

"Yeah, it's okay." Mello said. "I'll have to give you my address, though."

"I can give it to her." Mikami spoke. "I already know where you live."

"So it's settled then." Matt said, throwing his apple core into a nearby trashcan.

"What are_ we _doing tonight?" Light asked L.

"I have no idea." L shrugged. "I was going to study.

"Studying is boring." Misa groaned.

"It's kinda important, though." Sakuya said.

"I never study." Near shrugged one shoulder.

"Then how do you ace every test you take?" Mikami wondered.

"You too, L." Mello pointed out.

"That's because I study all the time." L said.

"No, you forgot to study one time and you aced the test in AP Spanish last year, remember?" Misa reminded him.

"Oh yeah." L looked puzzled.

"See?" Near said.

"You never did answer my question." Light said.

"I guess we can go play laser-tag." L mused.

"I wanna play!" Misa exclaimed.

"I haven't played laser-tag since I was a kid." Mello said.

"Then why don't we wait and do it as a group?" Sakuya suggested.

"That sounds like a better idea." Near nodded.

"If you guys want to go, I guess we can wait and go together." Light said. "Then I guess L and I can go out to eat somewhere."

"Sushi!" L exclaimed.

"Wow. Not sweets, L?" Mikami raised an eyebrow. "I'm shocked."

"What's the big deal?" Sakuya frowned.

"L only eats sweets." Mello replied, drinking from his soda.

"And you aren't overweight yet." Near said.

"I can't see how that's possible." Light wondered. "You should see him when we go on dates."

"I don't want to imagine that." Matt shuddered.

* * *

"I don't see why you have to have your friends over here."

Patrick wasn't very happy that Matt and Sakuya were coming over, but he liked the idea that there was going to be a girl present.

"Because I have the movie, Dad." Mello said while he was eating dinner with Patrick and Alicia.

"You won't even be here, Patrick." Alicia said. "Weren't you going to pick up the car from the mechanic?"

"I got it this afternoon while you were shopping." Patrick replied.

Mello couldn't help but notice the tension between his parents. And of course there was going to be tension. Patrick had put Alicia in the hospital and had killed Mello's future sibling. Alicia wasn't very happy with her husband at the moment, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"We won't be very loud, Dad." Mello cut up some more of his chicken. "And the movie's a little over an hour and a half."

"Is this one of those stupid Asian movies?" Patrick was also quite racist against Asians. Mello supposed he was allowed to be since his father was American and not any sort of Asian. Alicia was American as well, so Mello didn't really understand why they were living in Japan.

"Yes, Dad." Mello replied.

"Are you watching it in English?" Mello replied.

"Whatever Matt and Sakuya want to watch it in." Mello shrugged.

"Does it really matter?" Alicia asked.

"I don't like hearing Japanese." Patrick scowled.

_Then why are we living in Japan?_ Mello wondered as he finished, washed his dishes and went back upstairs where he got Alecto out of her cage and wrapped her around his arm.

It was obvious that Alecto had been cooped up in her cage for a long period of time. When she touched Mello's arm, the snake wound herself several times around his wrist before gradually moving up his arm.

"I've been busy, Alecto." Mello said. "I'll see if Sakuya doesn't mind you being out when we watch the movie."

Mello knew that Alecto couldn't reply, but she wasn't a dumb snake by a long shot. She had figured out how to open doors and cabinets and was under constant supervision when she was out of her cage.

"Yeah, Matt and Sakuya are coming over to watch _Advent Children_." Mello replied as he sat down on his bed. "You know Matt, but you haven't met Sakuya yet."

A knock sounded on the door and Alicia walked in the room with a pile of manga in hand.

"Are you talking to Alecto again?" she smiled.

"Yeah." Mello nodded. "She's not stupid, you know."

"Oh, I know." Alicia answered. "I had her out the other day and she tried to open the door again."

"Are you sure it's okay to have Sakuya and Matt over?" Mello asked.

"It's fine, Mello." Alicia assured him, setting several volumes of _Bleach _and_ Mushishi_ on the desk.

"Just don't say anything to Matt, okay?" Mello asked.

"Oh, so I can't talk to your friends, Mello?" Alicia smiled.

"About the fact that I like him, okay?" Mello flushed scarlet.

"Of course I won't." Alicia said. "It's nothing to get embarrassed about."

"Mum, you don't know how embarrassing it is for a guy to be talking to his mother about a guy that he likes." Mello said.

"Well, I can imagine that it would be a tad embarrassing, but you know I won't tell anyone about it, Mello." Alicia assured him.

"Including Dad?" Mello questioned.

"Especially Patrick." Alicia promised.

"Okay, then." Mello said.

The doorbell rang, which signalled that Matt and/or Sakuya had arrived.

"I guess one of them is here." Alicia said. "Are you going to put Alecto in her cage?"

"I'm going to see if I can keep her out." Mello followed his mother out of his room. "I hope Sakuya won't have a problem with her. She doesn't seem like the kind of girl who'd be freaked out over snakes."

When Mello opened the door, he found Sakuya standing at the door, looking like she was afraid that she had found the wrong house.

"Hey, Mello." Sakuya said as she took off her shoes when she walked inside.

"Hey, Sakuya." Mello replied. "You don't mind snakes, do you?"

"I love snakes." Sakuya answered. "Is she yours?" she asked, noticing Alecto, still wound on Mello's forearm.

"Yep. This is Alecto, the pain in the arse that she is." Mello said. "You don't mind that she's out, do you? She hasn't been out of her cage for a while."

"It's fine by me." Sakuya replied. "Does she bite?"

"She might take a while to get used to you, but she shouldn't bite." Mello said as they walked up to his room.

"She's pretty." Sakuya stroked Alecto gently on the head.

"You didn't see Matt in your travels, did you?" Mello asked. "He's not usually late for things."

"I didn't see him." Sakuya shook her head.

After a few minutes, Alecto tried to reach over for Sakuya. After a moment of thought and Sakuya's approval, Mello allowed the python to coil herself on Sakuya's arm.

"She doesn't bother you?" Mello wondered. "Seriously?"

"Not in the slightest." Sakuya smiled, rubbing her index finger along Alecto's head.

The doorbell rang once more, to which Mello responded by saying, "That'll be Matt."

And indeed, when he opened the door, Mello found a very annoyed Matt standing in the doorway.

"What took you?" Sakuya implored.

"Mom wanted me to help clean the living room." Matt rolled his eyes as he stepped inside and took his shoes off. "It took forever." Standing up, he asked, "Are we ready?"

"Yep." Mello grinned.

Walking into the living room, the teens found Alicia reading a book on Amazonian tree frogs on the couch.

"Mum, this is Sakuya." Mello gestured to Sakuya, who still had Alecto coiled around her arm. "You already know Matt."

"Yes, I do." Alicia said.

"And Dad is…?" Mello wondered.

"He went to play poker at Jim's house." Alicia said.

"Great." Mello's voice was contained anything but happiness.

"I'll go work on the cookies for my book club tomorrow." Alicia marked her place in her book and walked off to the kitchen.

"So…English or Japanese?" Mello asked.

"Japanese." Matt said without a second's hesitation.

"The English voice actors are pretty good." Mello shrugged as he put the DVD in the player.

"Wait…you can understand English?" Sakuya frowned.

"I spoke English when I was a kid, but then we moved over here." Mello said. "I got so used to speaking Japanese that I don't remember much English."

"So you speak Japanese at home?" Matt assumed as the teens waited for the senseless ads to finish.

"Unless my dad's home. Mum knows it's easier for me to speak Japanese and she likes the language." Mello replied. "When Dad's home, we have to speak English, which is harder."

"So why did you guys move here?" Sakuya wondered.

"No idea." Mello shrugged.

When the movie finally started, it took a little while for Sakuya to understand what was going on since she hadn't played anything in the _Final Fantasy_ series. Matt and Mello had to pause the movie and explain everything that happened throughout the game, which was a good refresher for Matt, who forgot a lot of the stuff in the game as well.

"This is really well done." Sakuya noted during the fight in the Forgotten City.

"Computer animation is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" Mello smiled.

After the movie was over, the teens hung out in Mello's room for a little while before the late hour required Matt and Sakuya to return home. Mello returned Alecto to her cage and she looked very grateful to have been allowed outside of its barrier for a long period of time.

Mello lay in bed that night thinking about the upcoming anime convention. Patrick had allowed his son to go, but only because Alicia had forced him to. Mello didn't want to think about what his father would do when it was time for him to leave.

**I've never been to an anime convention, so the next few chapters might be a bit...off. anyway, I hope everyone likes this story! I've caught a few more plot bunnies, so this is going to be longer than i imagined it to be. But it's nowhere near over yet. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: travels to anime cons are never boring**


	25. To the Convention

**Disclaimer: If I tried to own Death Note, I'd have a million fangirls to deal with. Why would I want that?**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! I know this whole arc type thing is kinda filler, but something will come from this. it doesn't seem like it now, but there will. trust me. on with deadly tale!**

"When was it decided that he was going?"

Mello could hear his parents arguing when he woke up the next weekend. And it didn't take him long to figure out what the conversation was about: Patrick didn't want his son to go to the anime convention.

Mello wasn't surprised in the least. Patrick had only let him go because it would mean that Mello was out of the house. He hadn't directly said this, but Mello knew that was the real reason.

A loud hiss brought Mello's azure eyes over to Alecto. The python was looking at the blonde with a look that said, "You'd better remember to feed me," a look that she gave him nearly every morning.

"I know, Alecto." Mello reached under his bed for the box of mice that he stored for her and put on in her cage.

After watching Alecto devour the rodent, Mello got dressed and, after making sure that Patrick couldn't be heard, went downstairs to the kitchen. Alicia was making pancakes and looked rather annoyed.

"Am I still going?" Mello clarified.

"Of course you are. I said you could go months ago." Alicia told him.

"You're sure?" Mello asked as he set his bags against the wall.

"I'm sure, Mello." Alicia flipped a pancake on the skillet. "Now let's go over the rules before you go."

Mello didn't like this part, but he knew he shouldn't be complaining. He was going to a convention for a weekend without parental supervision. He supposed that he could at least follow some of the rules Alicia set for him.

"No sex, no drugs, no buying any of those samurai swords." Alicia recited. "And I want you to call me each night, okay?"

"Okay, Mum." Mello said, checking to make sure that pancakes were finished before flipping one onto a plate and heading to the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Are you going to meet at Misa's?" Alicia asked.

"No, L's coming to get me." Mello drowned his pancake in syrup before cutting it up.

"Have I met L before?" Alicia had a hard time keeping track of Mello's friends. She knew Matt pretty well, however, since the redhead was over more often that not.

"He came over with Light to work on a World War II project." Mello said through a mouthful of pancake. "The one on the bombing of Dresden."

"If you say so." Alicia shrugged.

When he was done breakfast, Mello had about half an hour to wait before L would show up, so he decided to get some of his homework done. Aiber had given him a boatload of homework, which involved writing an essay on the history of Multiple Personality Disorder. Mello also had to translate two chapters of _A Farewell To Arms_ in English, which he was absolutely dreading.

As soon as he opened his Psychology textbook, the doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of a certain raven-haired teen. Shoving the textbook in his backpack, Mello answered the door to find L standing on the front porch.

"What's up, Mello?" L asked as he walked inside to help Mello with his luggage in the kitchen.

"Not much, L." Mello said. Facing Alicia, he said, "Mum, I'm heading out."

"Okay. Have fun." Alicia told him. "Make sure you call me when you get there."

"All right…" Mello scowled as he walked out of the room with L.

"Mello, we've had a change of plan." L said while they were walking down the driveway.

"Why?" Mello frowned. "What happened?"

"The convention building burned down the other night." L informed him.

"So what, we're not going?" Mello wondered.

"No, it's been moved to Osaka." L told him. "It's just going to take a little longer to get there."

"Oh, okay." Mello said.

Upon their arrival at Sakuya's house, the designated meeting place, L and Mello found a mountain of luggage in the driveway. It had been decided that they would take Sakuya's family mini-van, since they couldn't use Mikami's because he wasn't going on the trip.

"It's about time, L." Light, who had been waiting in the driveway, said when the raven and blonde arrived.

"I got lost." L shrugged, helping Mello load his stuff in the van.

"Mello lives down the street." Light said.

"It's a long way from here!" L exclaimed.

"Where's everyone else?" Mello wondered, closing the trunk of the mini-van.

"Inside." Light informed him. "Matt was waiting out here with me, but he got bored."

"Typical." L rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road."

It took about ten minutes to get everyone in the mini-van. Near had fallen asleep on the couch and the teens ran in to a spot of trouble trying to wake him up. Eventually, Sakuya ended up throwing the TV remote at the seemingly albino teen, which woke him up just the same.

Then an argument broke out over who would be driving. Light had finally gotten his driver's licence and could, therefore, be the driver for the escapade. Misa didn't like the idea of Light driving a mini-van, but since no one else had a licence, this argument was settled rather quickly, the end result being that Light was the driver.

So after what seemed like an endless list of distractions, the teens were finally on the road and ready to start their adventure. Matt had brought just about every video game he owned for all of his portable gaming devices and he kept losing the games under the seats.

"Can't you keep them in a case or something?" Sakuya asked from the middle row.

"They are!" Matt exclaimed, not looking up from his PSP.

"So how do they keep falling on the floor?" L wondered.

"Hell if I know." Matt shrugged.

"Did anyone else bring their homework for English?" Mello asked, frowning at the paper in front of him.

"I finished it yesterday." Light replied.

"Why are you taking English, Mello?" Near wondered as he smashed two toy police cars together.

"Because I need a language credit." Mello shrugged.

"And you brought your homework with you?" Matt asked incredulously.

"Um, yeah?" Mello's response was a question.

"I brought my homework for Cultures and Cuisine." Misa chimed in.

"What homework could you _possibly_ have Cultures and Cuisine?" Light questioned as he changed lanes in the highway.

"I have to answer questions about desserts in Thailand." Misa shuddered.

"Oh, how awful." Near rolled his eyes.

"I wanted to take that class, but I heard that it was already full." Sakuya leaned against her seat.

"You're not missing much." Matt assured her. "My mom made me take it last year since I can't cook."

"Did it help?" Mello wondered.

"I burn things more often now." Matt responded with complete nonchalance.

"Hence the pasta incident at the beach." Light said.

"That was disastrous." Near shook his head.

"Why?" Sakuya was obviously confused. "What happened?"

"We went to the beach a few months ago and Matt decided to make pasta for dinner one night." Misa began.

"It was so burnt that we couldn't eat it." L concluded.

"It wasn't _that_ burnt, L." Mello corrected the raven.

"That's what it tasted like." L shrugged.

"You all are so nice, aren't you?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"Mello, I can hear your music up here." Light said, referring to the music that was coming from the blonde's silver iPod.

"Oh yeah?" Mello challenged. "Then what is it?"

"_Rusty Nail_ from X Japan." Sakuya said.

"Damn." Mello looked surprised. "It _must_ be loud, then."

"Exactly." Light said.

"Light, how much longer?" Misa asked, looking up from her crossword puzzle.

"I dunno." Light shrugged. "A couple of hours, I guess."

"This is taking forever." Near grumbled.

"It's in Osaka, Near." L told the small teen. "It's going to take a while."

"Does anyone know what caused the fire at the convention centre? Sakuya asked, turning a page of _Lord of the Flies_.

"No idea." Mello shrugged.

"Maybe it was arson." Light suggested. "There've been some arsonists running around lately, right?"

"I haven't heard anything about that." Misa frowned.

"Are you sure that you aren't thinking of a book you're reading?" Matt asked the Yagami.

"Maybe I am." Light shrugged.

"So what are we going to do when we get there?" Mello asked. "I haven't been to a convention since the _Star Wars_ con a few years ago."

"Well, we have to check in first." Near said.

"Obviously." Misa rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to watch the amv contest." Sakuya nodded.

"You make amvs?" Matt questioned.

"I'm more into computers than it looks like, Matt." Sakuya said.

"You didn't enter one, did you?" L wondered.

"Are you kidding? Of course not!" Sakuya shook her head. "I'm nowhere near that good."

"Mine are horrible." Mello said, giving up on his English homework and pulling out his DS.

"They aren't that bad, Mello." Light said. "I saw the ones you put up on YouTube."

"My software is bad and the clips are atrocious." Mello said.

"I can install the good stuff for you if you want." Sakuya offered.

"Are you sure?" Mello asked.

"Yeah. I don't see why you can't make amvs with decent software." Sakuya nodded.

The conversations eventually faded away as a few of the teens drifted off to sleep, something that usually happened when people go on long car rides. Mello was the only one awake at one point, aside from Light, who couldn't fall asleep because he was driving. Mello was looking forward to the convention, hoping to use it as an escape from reality.

**I was really unmotivated to write today....anyway, reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: convention chaos**


	26. Conclusion

**Disclaimer: I own the plot. THAT'S IT!**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! I'm going to make a LOT of MXM fangirls happy. I made myself happy with this, anyway. I enjoyed writing this and I hope it's as good to read!**

**Before I start this, anyway, I need to make something clear. I sincerely don't mean to offend anyone with this story. I know there are plenty of people in Mello's situation and I don't mean to offend anyone. I have friends who have depression and plenty of gay friends. And I understand that some people are more touchy than others, hint the plethora of flamers for IIWYN. I just want to make this clear so there are no misunderstandings.**

**That being said, on with the deadly tale!**

The rest of the ride was uneventfully boring. With many of the teens asleep, Mello and Light had to converse with each other, which wasn't a bad thing, but it felt a little awkward since the two didn't talk much outside school. Light was usually with L whilst Mello was usually with Matt.

The rooms were divided up after L and Near had checked in. Near, Misa and Sakuya would share a room while Light, Matt, L and Mello shared another. It was a bit annoying for Light to share his room with Matt and Mello, but he didn't really have any other choice in the matter.

"This is such a pain…" Light grumbled as he unpacked the stuff from his suitcase and started putting it in drawers.

"Quit complaining, Light." Matt chucked a sock at the complaining Yagami.

"And quit throwing socks, Matt!" Light threw a pair of jeans at the redhead.

"Stop throwing clothes." Mello walked out of the bathroom. "What are we? Four?"

"Seven and a half." Matt grinned.

"Where's L, anyway?" Mello wondered.

"He thinks that Near has some of his cosplay stuff." Light said. "Like his ninja headband and whatnot."

"You're full of descriptiveness today, aren't you?" Matt rolled his eyes, picking up the abandoned socks on the floor.

At that moment, L came back in the room proclaiming, "I got my stuff!"

"No one cares." Matt said flatly.

"You should." L said.

"But we don't." Mello had put on his Akatsuki cloak and was now working on getting his blonde wig situated.

"Mello, you look ridiculous." Light was holding back a snicker.

"A good ridiculous or a bad ridiculous?" Mello wondered, looking himself over in the mirror.

"Not like yourself." L said.

"That doesn't tell me anything." Mello scowled, moving on to drawing the palm-mouths on his hands.

"At least I don't have to worry about a wig." Matt beamed.

"Oh, shut it." Mello glared at the gamer.

"Light, how are you going to pull off Uryû?" Matt wondered.

"What do you mean?" Light wondered, now getting in his own costume.

"I thought you hated Ishida?" Mello frowned.

"That doesn't have anything to do with me cosplaying as him." Light shrugged.

"Most people don't cosplay as people they hate, honey." L said, retreating to the bathroom so he could gel his hair into duck-butt spikes.

"Yeah, you don't see me cosplaying as Penelo, do you?" Matt suggested, referring to a character from _Final Fantasy XII_.

"Penelo's a chick, dude." L said from the bathroom.

"Eh, good point." Matt shrugged. "You guys ready yet?"

"I'm set." Mello finished drawing the palm-mouths and flopped down on the couch.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door and Near made his marvellous entrance. The seemingly albino had been transformed into a perfect Tôshirô Hitsugaya, right down to the blue-green/teal eyes.

"Nice, Near." Matt smiled.

"It's not funny." Near said automatically, brushing the lint off of his robes.

"We didn't say it was." Light said.

"What's going on?" Mello asked.

"Sakuya and Misa are getting ready." Near said. "And L, I need to use your spiking gel."

"Didn't you bring some for yourself?" Light wondered.

"I forgot to pack it." Near admitted sheepishly.

"Okay, okay." L grabbed the smaller teen and dragged him into the bathroom.

"That doesn't look right, honey." Light said with a smile.

"Who cares what you think?" L's voice could be heard from the small bathroom.

It took a little over ten minutes for the raven to gel and spike the seemingly albino teen's hair. Since Near's hair was naturally curly, it didn't want to spike very well. L had to try different combinations in order to get the desired result.

"Beautiful." Matt applauded as soon as Near and L stepped out of the bathroom. "Simply stunning!"

"Shut up." Near scowled. "I need to go back for my Zanpakuto."

"So why are you telling us?" Mello wondered, flipping a jar of purple nail polish in the air.

"Just letting you know." Near smiled before making his exodus.

"He's an odd one." Matt had finished and plopped down on the couch next to Mello.

"So why did you go out with him?" Light wondered.

"He asked me." Matt shrugged. "What could I have done?"

"Said no." Mello pointed out.

"Says the one who hasn't gone out with anyone." Matt said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" L questioned.

"He doesn't know what it's like to turn people down." Matt explained.

"Wait, you've never been with anyone, Mello?" Light looked incredulously at the Deidara cosplayer on the couch.

"Nope." Mello shook his head. "I'm not sure if I like it or not."

"What do you mean?" L wondered, adjusting the ninja headband on his forehead.

"I think I've found this guy I like." Mello admitted.

"A _guy_?!" Light nearly had a heart attack. "Since when are you gay?!"

"You've known for a while now, Light." Mello said. "Since the beach."

"That long?" Light frowned.

"Yep." Mello nodded as he pulled out his iPod and shoved the headphones in his ears.

"Do we know him?" L wondered.

"Yep. You guys have known him longer than I have." Mello said.

"Which makes sense, since you haven't been here that long." Matt said, watching the raven check his duck-butt hair in the mirror.

"Mello has been here for a while." The teenage Yagami said with a shrug.

"Less than a year, though." Mello pointed out.

"But you're no stranger, either." L contradicted the blonde.

"Come on, let's get going already." Matt said.

Mello wasn't paying attention. He was absorbed in his music, which always happened when he listened to the music on his iPod. The song happened to be _It's Been A While _from Staind, a band that Mello had gotten into recently. Having acquired the music from a combination of Near and iTunes, Mello had downloaded several albums to his silver iPod.

_It's been a while since I couldn't say that I wasn't addicted and it's been a while since I couldn't say I loved myself as well as…and it's been a while since I've gone and fucked things up just like I always do. And it's been a while, but all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you. _

"Mello, you're spacing out again." Light threw a shoe at the blonde.

"Lighten up, dude." Mello rolled his eyes, ripping the headphones out of his ears and throwing the iPod on the couch.

"Come on, Mels." Matt grabbed Mello's hand and dragged him off to Near, Misa and Sakuya's room.

Upon their arrival, Mello and Matt found complete and utter chaos. Considering the fact that the room had only been occupied for about an hour, there should not have been as much clutter as there was. Shoes were strewn across the floor like paper on a highway and bottles of hair gel, perfume and tubes of lip-gloss cluttered the couch like a toxic wasteland. Combs and hairbrushes were scattered across a table and the room as a whole smelled like a combination of Axe and jasmine body spray.

"God, it reeks in here." Mello scrunched up his nose.

"Nice to see you too, Mello." Misa said from the far side of the room, where she was adjusting the skirt of her outfit.

"Let's go already!" Matt exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"We're getting there, Matt." Near was on all fours looking under the sofa.

"What the hell are you doing, Near?" Mello wondered.

"I can't find my Zanpakuto." Near proclaimed.

"Does Light have it?" Matt asked randomly.

"Why would Light have it?" Sakuya wondered as she sprayed some hair gel in her hair.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

"Oh!" Misa exclaimed. "You know what you guys should do?"

"Um…no?" Mello and Matt responded together.

"You guys are going as Deidara and Sasori, right?" Misa clarified.

"No, they're Rangiku and Tamaki." Near rolled his eyes.

"Well, you guys should be like the whole SasoDei thing." Misa looked quite proud of herself.

"Yeah, that'll be pretty popular." Sakuya nodded in agreement, surprised that Misa could think of such a thing.

"I'm all for it, but I'm not sure Mello is." Matt said.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, Matt?" Mello glared at the gamer.

"You've never been a relationship before, much less a homosexual one." Matt pointed out.

"So you can give him advice." Near said, now looking for his Zanpakuto under a chair.

"Sounds like a good idea." Matt now grabbed Mello by the hand once more and dragged him out of the room and down to the main convention area.

It was so hard to move that Mello felt that he was being trapped in a can of sardines. His aquamarine eyes found cosplayers from nearly all of the anime he watched: _Mushishi, Ouran High School Host Club, Black Cat_…it was absolutely amazing to watch.

Matt led him not to the overly crowded area, but to a nice secluded spot a few feet away from the noise.

"So are you really up for it, Mello?" Matt asked.

"I guess so." Mello nodded. "I mean, I've pretty much determined that I'm gay. This could give me a chance to practice for when I find a boyfriend."

"I want you to be completely sure about this, Mels." Matt said. "If someone moves too fast into this stage, they can get really messed up in the long run."

"I'm sure, Matt." Mello assured him.

"You're positive?" Matt checked once more.

"Positive." Mello said.

Matt said something that Mello didn't hear, which was understandable because the decibel level in the room was at unprecedented heights. Mello soon found his lips crushing Matt's, which was definitely very enticing and invigorating. Matt's tongue found its way into Mello's mouth and was clearly exploring this new and uncharted territory. Mello responded by sliding his tongue against Matt's for a devastating second before breaking away, feeling awesomely breathless.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Matt had a smile set on his lips.

"Definitely not." Mello was grinning too. "A little odd, but definitely not bad."

"Why odd?" Matt wondered.

"You were the first person I've kissed." Mello responded. "I never imagined that my first kiss would be with a guy."

"Well, I'm glad that I could be the first." Matt smiled. "Now, let's get this party started, huh?"

"Hell yeah." Mello grinned.

"Mels, it would probably be more convincing that we were the real SasoDei if we come out holding hands." Matt said.

"Okay, then." Mello took Matt's hand and walked out to the sea of people.

It was certainly the most unusual convention that Mello had ever been to. Street vendors had made their way into the room and were attempting to sell people anything from hot dogs to bags of Doritos. There were more official stands set up as well, where people could buy cosplaying whatnot.

Mello was at a manga stand, flipping through a copy of _Naruto Volume 23_, but something was on his mind. The song from Staind kept coming in his head, but one particular line kept repeating.

_It's been a while but I still remember just the way you taste._

And for one reason or another, he kept thinking about his kiss with Matt.

While he didn't have any experience to go on, he felt that that kiss had been pretty damn amazing. It felt so _right_ to him, which he knew it shouldn't. Most people felt that being attracted to someone of your own sex was nefarious, a sin, but it just felt right, like that's what he was supposed to feel. True, Patrick wouldn't feel the same way, but Mello would deal with that later. After many months of wondering, he finally understood how he felt.

He was in love with Matt.

**It's out! And I KNOW a lot of MXM fangirls are probably squealing right now. See? Didn't I say that major stuff was going to happen at the convention? It's going to get good soon! and I've never been to a convention before, so I'll need some help as to what goes on there. All help is appreciated! reviews equal love! **

**next chapter: never would have expected this...**


	27. Convention Mayhem

**Disclaimer: If I really owned Death Note, there would be a LOT less rules and it would be easier to understand.**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! My thanks extends to everyone who has reviewed thus far, especially for the last chapter. It went over REALLY well. ^_^ And thanks to my dedicated readers, this now has over 200 reviews! I can't possibly describe how happy I am, since I don't think any of my stories has gotten this many reviews. On to regular stuff, I thank those who gave info for conventions, since I have never been to one. *grrr* I know a lot of the same thing happens over and over, but I didn't really have a lot to go on. Anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

In all the chaos from the convention, Mello had managed to push Matt out of his thoughts. After all, there was so much to do!

The rest of the gang finally met Matt and Mello about an hour later at the stand for _Strawberry 100%_ merchandise. It seemed that Near had stored his Zanpakuto in the closet in the other room and had forgotten it was there, a typical thing for Near to do.

"It was annoying to have you search our stuff, Near." Light complained while he read a copy of _The Melancholy of Suzumia Haruhi._

"One of you might have had it." Near glared at the Yagami. "I wouldn't put it past Matt."

"Thanks a lot, honey." Matt scowled.

"Don't call me honey." Near wrapped his arm around Misa. "We're not going out anymore."

"Well noted." Matt grabbed Mello and the two headed off to look at the samurai swords.

"They're acting oddly, aren't they?" Sakuya wondered, taking a picture of a Kakashi cosplayer with her cell phone.

"They've been doing this for a while." L said. "We have yet to figure out what it is."

"Ah well." Misa shrugged. "Come on, Near! Let's go look at the stuff for _Ouran High School Host Club_!"

"Slow down, Misa!" Near exclaimed as he was dragged off by his eccentric girlfriend.

"Sakuya, are you going to take pictures of people all day?" Light questioned.

"Nah, I'm headed for the amv contest." Sakuya said as she walked off.

L turned to Light and said, "So what are we going to do?"

"I have no idea." Light said. "Come on, let's see if we can find the cosplay contest. There are some good cosplayers out there."

Meanwhile, Near was having a hard time releasing himself from Misa's grip. The people around them were apparently wondering why a Renge cosplayer was dragging off a Hitsugaya cosplayer, but stranger things had happened before.

"Slow down, Misa." Near finally managed to break free from Misa. "People are staring!"

"No, they're not, Near." Misa assured him.

"Are you blind?!" Near demanded. "Yes, they are!"

"You're being over dramatic." Misa said as they reached the stand at last.

"Hurry up, I want to go look at the stuff for _InuYasha_." Near complained.

"Well, you can do that while I'm looking at the stuff for _XXXHolic_." Misa was looking at the back of a boxed DVD set.

"Well, I'm heading out." Near said. "Try not to miss me."

A few yards away, Sakuya had joined Matt and Mello at the samurai display case and was taking pictures with her cell phone. All three teens gazed longingly at the intricate blades, but knew that they wouldn't get it past the front door at their homes.

"Still, it's nice to look, isn't it?" Sakuya sighed.

"They look awesome!" Matt exclaimed.

"We should see if there are any Zanpakuto for Near." Mello said.

"Why?" Sakuya wondered.

"In case he looses his again." Mello shrugged.

"He didn't bring his down with him, did he?" Sakuya frowned.

"That'd be Near." Matt shook his head. "Always forgetting things."

"You do, too." Mello said accusingly.

"Not as often as Near did." Matt retorted.

"Seriously, we should look at the amvs." Sakuya said. "It'd be really cool!"

"If you want to look at them, go right ahead." Matt said. "I feel like looking at the stuff for _Bleach._"

"Are you two going to be apart during this thing?" Sakuya noticed how close the two always seemed to be to each other. "It's like you're a couple or something."

Both teens had their own reaction to Sakuya's comment. Matt didn't do much of anything while Mello's face turned a deep shade of maroon.

"Lighten up, will ya Mello?" Sakuya gave the blonde a puzzled look. "There's such a thing as sarcasm, you know."

"It wasn't very sarcastic." Mello said with a touch of hostility in his voice.

"Still, you two are always together." Sakuya observed. "Is there something I should know? A girl's intuition never lies."

"Nothing's going on, Sakuya." Matt assured her. "We're just two cosplayers trying to enjoy a convention."

"If you say so…" Sakuya clearly doubted this, but said nothing more as she walked off to the amvs, stopping to chat with a Winry Rockbell cosplayer along the way.

"She's an odd one." Matt shook his head.

"Try not to dwell on it." Mello dragged the Sasori cosplayer off to the section dedicated to _Bleach_. "You can find volume 12 now."

"Is that the one where Renji fights Ichigo?" Matt questioned.

"I believe so." Mello nodded. "Can't be sure, though."

"So what are we going to do after this?" Matt wondered.

"We could check out the cosplay contest." Mello said.

"I remember this Kyo Sohma cosplayer was hitting on me at Cosplay 2007." Matt smiled at the memory.

"What did you do?" Mello asked as he looked at a key-chain of Orihime Inoue.

"He asked for my number, so I gave him Light's." Matt grinned. "He wondered why a stranger was calling him at three in the morning."

"I bet he didn't take _that_ too well, did he?" Mello smiled as well.

"I can't imagine why." Matt feigned confusion.

"Well, try not to dwell on it." Mello shook his head.

"I want to go back to the samurai swords!" Matt exclaimed as a pair of Edward Elric cosplayers darted past them.

"What's the point?" Mello frowned. "We can't take one home with us."

"I know, but it's still cool to look at them." Matt shrugged.

"Then you'll be liable to steal one." Mello said. "And I don't feel like bailing you out of jail."

"Hmm." Matt scowled. "Some friend _you_ are."

"Yep." Mello grinned. "Come on. I want to check out the stuff for _Vampire Knight_."

"I didn't think you read that?" Matt frowned. "Oh! You know what we should look for?"

"Um…no?" Mello's response was a question.

"_Gravitation!_" Matt exclaimed.

"Good call." Mello grinned and the two of them went off to find the table for the smut filled yaoi.

"I didn't think you read this." Matt frowned as he flipped through a copy of volume 4.

"Are you kidding?" Mello raised an eyebrow. "This was my first shonen-ai."

"Mine too." Matt nodded. "I wonder if they have anything for _Psychic Academy_ here…"

"You like that manga?" Mello followed Matt into the sea of cosplayers. "You can't like the chicks if you're gay."

"I like the plot." Matt said. "I hate the way the thing ended, though. Such a waste."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Mello said.

He was about to say something else when he was attacked from behind, causing him to fall into a Kisame cosplayer, who didn't look too happy in the least. After turning around, he found Misa on the ground next to him.

"Misa!" Matt yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"We can't find Light and L." Misa said.

"We?" Mello and Matt said simultaneously.

"Misa!"

A few seconds later, Near could be seen running into view. The seemingly younger teen had apparently gotten separated from his hyperactive girlfriend and was grateful to have found her again.

"Don't run off like that, Misa!" Near snapped.

"So do you know where they are?" Misa wondered.

"No idea." Matt shook his head.

"They're fine. This is a huge convention." Mello said.

"Yeah, like those two sentences aren't contradictory." Near rolled his eyes.

"If we can't find them in a few hours, then we'll go look for them." Mello assured her.

"They're probably banging each other in a storage closet or something." Matt said before dragging Mello off in the direction of the amv contest.

"You worry too much, Misa." Near told her as they walked off to the _Fruits Basket_ merchandise.

"Well, I haven't seen Light and L for a while." Misa sounded worried.

"We've only been here for ten minutes!" Near exclaimed.

"Near, where's your Zanpakuto?" Misa asked quite randomly.

"Huh." Near said after making sure that it wasn't in the sheath on his back. "I guess I left it in the room."

"I go with you!" Misa proclaimed.

"Eh?" Near raised an eyebrow.

"I'll go with you to get it." Misa grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and dragged him off in the direction of the stairs.

"Misa, did you happen to have caffeine today?" Near wondered.

"Nope!" Misa exclaimed.

"Then why are you so hyper?" Near implored.

"Because I'm with you." Misa replied.

"That's really cheesy, you know?" Near pretended to vomit on the carpet.

"Who cares?" Misa shrugged.

Many hours later, the teens were starting to get exhausted from the hustling and bustling of the convention. When L and Light were nowhere to be seen around nine that night, they started to get worried.

"Oh, this is bad." Misa said worriedly.

"Calm down, Misa." Matt assured her. "They're probably having sex in a closet or something."

"Light's not answering his cell phone." Sakuya closed her phone and stuck it back in her pocket. "This isn't going too well."

"You're worrying too much." Mello flopped down on the couch, allowing Matt to sit down next to him. "I'm sure Light and L are just fine."

"But what if they got dragged off by some obsessed fangirl?" Near pointed out.

"There _are_ plenty of Sasuke fangirls out there." Sakuya agreed.

"I've never heard of anything like that happening at a convention, Near." Mello said.

"When I went to Comic Con a few years ago, this Tohru Honda cosplayer got dragged off by a fanboy." Matt added.

"Okay, so I was wrong." Mello rolled his eyes.

"Maybe they _did_ get abducted." Sakuya noted, to which Misa wailed quite loudly.

"Oh, shut it, Misa." Near snapped. "There's no way that they could get abducted."

"Yeah, they don't generally let child molesters into anime conventions." Mello said.

At that moment, _Seventh Heaven_ rang throughout the room. Everyone looked at one another to determine whose cell phone had gone off until Sakuya pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered the call.

"Hey, it's Sakuya…Light? Where the hell are you?…he's _what?_" Everyone not listening on the call looked at each other with confused expressions. "How did he get like that?…uh-huh…uh-huh…Okay. Just bring him to our room, okay? We're all waiting…all right. Bye."

"What happened to L?" Near wondered.

"Apparently they went to a bar for something to drink and asked for virgin daiquiris." Sakuya flipped the cell phone shut and shoved it back in her pocket. "But the bar tender accidentally gave them alcoholic daiquiris and they didn't know until after L had already drank about six of them."

"Oh, God." Matt shook his head.

"Wait a minute, what about Light?" Mello frowned.

"Oh, he just got soda." Sakuya said. "He's still of sound mind."

"I don't think Light's ever been of sound mind, Sakuya." Near shrugged.

"No, probably not." Misa agreed.

"So where was he when he called?" Mello wondered.

"Down in the lobby." Sakuya replied, taking a bottle of water from the fridge and twisting off the cap. "He's going to bring him up."

"Great. So we're going to have to deal with a drunken L all night." Matt was clearly not happy with this.

"Sucks to be you." Misa smiled.

"Oh, we're staying in your room, then." Matt said.

"We have no more room." Near pointed out. "That's why you two are with the lovebirds in the first place."

"But we don't have a pull-out couch in our room, though." Mello whined.

"None of us do." Sakuya pointed out.

"Well, it's going to be rather awkward sleeping in the same bed with Matt when we're not going out." Mello could feel his face growing hot.

"You could always sleep in the bathtub like my ex did." Sakuya said. "Then again, we had about twenty people crammed in room, so he kind of had to sleep in the bathtub."

"I'm not going to ask…" Matt was clearly trying to block a lewd image out of his head.

At that moment, the door burst open and Light lumbered into the room, half-carrying half-dragging L. The raven appeared to be half-conscious as well, since the teen kept muttering random sentences that made no sense whatsoever.

"He's that bad, huh?" Misa was trying to fight back a laugh.

"Light, where'sh shee peanut butta?" L slurred.

"What the hell?" Matt and Mello said together.

"He's been doing this for a while now." Light said. "Can I take him through the adjoining door?"

"Go right ahead." Sakuya went and opened the door for him.

"Thanks." Light nodded. "Come on, L. Let's get the peanut butter."

"Ooh, yesh!" L was saying as Light shut the door.

"God, it's going to be brutal." Mello shuddered.

"I hope Light doesn't try to take advantage of L's drunken state." Sakuya said.

"Light wouldn't do that." Misa assured him. "He's too polite."

"Well, let's get going and make sure that L doesn't drink himself to death." Matt said, pulling Mello off the couch.

"Why would he?" Mello frowned. "There isn't any alcohol left, is there?"

"Nope." Matt shrugged.

So the two went back to their room where they found Light trying to get L to sleep off the drunk stage. It was going to be an interesting next morning.

**No one wants a drunken L......anyway, I have one of two things in mind for the next chapter. Once I've decided what's going to happen, I will start writing chapter 28. anyway, reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: School seems like such a bore now...**


	28. Over and Over

**Disclaimer: Who else would be insane enough to come up with something else like this?**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! Quick update, huh? I really wanted to get to the good part. Well, the important part. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

Coming back from the convention was complete and utter chaos. Misa had started complaining about the fact that Light had to drive, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it since Light was the only one there with a valid driver's licence. Near had started to colour in his colouring book with Sharpies, which resulted in the mini-van smelling like the popular writing implement, which, in turn, resulted in Matt getting a headache for the duration of the trip. Mello had brought some of his music along, but it was mostly metal-esque or screamo and L was complaining about it almost the whole time. Sakuya was pretty much the only one who didn't complain on the way back.

Grateful to be back in his own room, Mello threw his bag of clothes and cosplay whatnot down on the ground against the wall and flopped down in his bed, falling asleep within minutes.

The dream with the fire came first like it always did. The nightmare was relived for about half an hour before a new dream started, a dream that Mello had never had before.

A dream about Matt.

There was fire in this dream, too, but it wasn't like the other Fire Dream, as Mello called it. In his dream, Patrick had found Matt and Mello having dinner at a restaurant and jumped to the conclusion that the two were dating. Furious, Patrick had somehow doused the entire restaurant in motor oil and lit a match, causing the structure to become a fiery inferno. He had also gone out of his way to bar every entrance to ensure that the two burned alive, which they did.

After he had woken up from this nightmare, Mello found himself deep in thought. Matt was still fresh in his mind. Matt's kiss was still fresh in his mind. But why in the world would that make him dream what he had?

Because he had been planning on asking Matt out.

But Mello knew what would happen if Patrick found out he was dating another boy. It would end very similarly to his dream, though Patrick might just sneak in and kill his son in his sleep. And all for some stupid reason like falling for another guy.

Confused, Mello flipped on his side and stared out the open window, watching the clouds move across the crescent moon. He loved Matt, that much was certain. He wanted to at least see if the two of them would be good matches for each other. But this was hard to do when Mello had such a homophobic father.

Mello tried to think of a solution, but he was too tired to think, yet the recent nightmare had left him afraid too go to sleep again. So he pulled out a spiral notebook and continued to work on his poem.

-

"Man, this is such a pain."

First block the next morning found the teens in the studio once again, someplace where the teens didn't want to be so early in the morning. Fortunately, Ayame was absent, so most of the problems found solutions themselves. And Light was directing, so things would run pretty smoothly.

"Isn't it, though?" Mello said from the graphics computer.

"You okay?" Matt asked as he switched cameras back and forth.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Mello nodded. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"How come?" Matt wanted to know.

"I just couldn't sleep." Mello didn't feel like going into detail.

"Okay." Matt nodded. "I didn't get much sleep, either."

"What game were you playing this time?" Mello knew that Matt stayed up most of the night playing video games.

"_Final Fantasy X/2_." Matt grinned.

"Good one." Mello found a graphic of a stack of books and added it to the template.

"Matt, stop switching the cameras." Light said from the other side of the room. "Sakuya and Aiden are complaining that they can't see their camera shots."

"Tell Aiden to set his first, then I'll switch so Sakuya can set hers." Matt obviously didn't feel like doing much work.

"Whatever." Light said. "And we're doing a recorded run-through."

Things ran much more smoothly when Light was director. The graphics weren't obscurely ridiculous, the audio for the intro wasn't as loud as it usually was, and the announcements actually made sense. Unfortunately, Light didn't direct very much, so it was truly a blessing when the Yagami stepped up to the plate.

"I'm not that good, you know." Light said as the group made their way to English.

"That's what you think." Mello said.

AP Psychology was boring as usual. It happened to be a day of taking notes, something the class absolutely dreaded. Aiber had an uncanny habit of jumping around chapters. They had just finished up chapter sixteen, so they moved on to chapter four: parts of the brain.

"I'm starting to wonder why I took this class." L complained as he copied notes about the hypothalamus.

"I needed a class." Mello shrugged. "And I took regular Psych at my old school, so this is pretty easy."

"Lucky you." Matt scowled. "I wish I _had_ taken regular."

"It's a lot easier." Mello said.

"Yeah, _now_ you tell me after we're in AP." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Oh, no problem." Mello smiled.

"Stop flirting, you two." L commented. "We're in school, remember?"

"That doesn't seem to stop you, L." Matt copied the information about the Pituitary Gland.

"I don't know what you're talking about." L feigned confusion and pretended to be absorbed in his notes.

"Sure, sure." Mello smiled.

"Have you recovered from your drunken experience yet?" Matt asked.

"I swear, I'm never going to drink again." L said. "And I didn't even know it was alcoholic! It was supposed to be virgin!"

"It was a convention." Mello shrugged.

"I didn't think alcohol could be served at conventions." Matt frowned.

"If you have an ID, I think." L said. "But Light and I went to a bar in town."

"That explains it, then." Mello said.

"What does?" L wondered.

"Someone might've slipped something in your drink." Mello explained.

"Slipped _what_ in my drink?" L demanded.

But Mello never got a chance to answer. Aiber had decided at that moment, to go over the notes and start working on chapter twenty-four, operant conditioning. While Aiber droned on about Pavlov's experiment with dogs, Matt, Mello and L passed notes back and forth to each other, each thinking of situations of who had slipped what into L's drink.

"But how could the prostitute possibly put crack in my drink if she has no arms?" L wondered as they arrived at lunch twenty minutes later.

"What the hell kind of conversation have _you_ guys been having?" Mikami raised an eyebrow, looking very perturbed indeed.

"We were coming up with situations on how someone slipped something into L's drink at the convention." Matt explained, sitting down on the hard bench.

"And it was an armless prostitute?" Near questioned.

"That's Mello's idea." L jerked his head toward the blonde sitting next to Matt.

"That's completely ridiculous, Mello." Sakuya said.

"It's not like Matt's is any better." Mello shrugged.

"What's yours?" Misa asked the gamer.

"I was thinking that a band of vampire pirates came in and switched his drink for a Heineken laced with opium." Matt grinned.

"How the hell do you combine vampires and pirates like that?" Near wondered.

"I dunno." Matt shrugged. "It's better than Mello's."

"Actually, I think Mello's is more entertaining than vampire pirates." Sakuya said.

"Oh, what do you know?" Matt scowled and dove into his chicken salad.

* * *

Fourth block found Matt, Mello and Sakuya in AP Euro, a class that Mello hadn't planned on taking but was enjoying just the same. The class was in the computer lab doing a PowerPoint on the Black Plague, describing how it spread across Europe as well as the signs and symptoms and why the treatments back then were completely pointless.

"This whole thing is stupid." Matt was reading an article on Wikipedia.

"Then why did you take the class?" Sakuya wondered.

"I thought it was going to be an easy A." Matt replied.

"Matt, it's AP." Mello said. "How in hell is that easy?"

"Search me." Matt shrugged.

"No, I don't think I will." Mello grinned.

"Ha ha, Mels." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Sakuya, is something going on between you and Mikami?" Mello changed the subject suddenly.

"He's just mad that I'm into anime and he isn't." Sakuya replied. "He's being really anal about it."

"He can get that way, can't he?" Matt agreed.

"If this keeps up, I'm breaking up with him." Sakuya mentioned. "I can't take much more of this."

"I wouldn't be able to." Mello typed away at his keyboard.

"You're a guy." Sakuya pointed out. "You wouldn't go out with him."

"I'm gay." Mello said. "Yes, I could."

"Eh, good point." Sakuya shrugged.

"But why would you go out with him?" Matt wondered. "You don't like him anymore."

"You did?" Sakuya was absolutely astounded by this new information.

"At one point, but I hate his guts now." Mello said.

"That much is obvious." Sakuya said.

* * *

As soon as Mello got home, he dashed up to his room, let Alecto out of her cage and allowed her to wind herself around his arm. He'd had a confusing day and talking to her gave him a chance to sort out the confusing thoughts in his mind.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Alecto." Mello shook his head as he got his homework out of his backpack and started to translate pages of _The Scarlet Letter_ into Japanese.

Alecto gave Mello a look that said, "So you think that I can tell you what to do?" to which Mello responded by saying, "I know you can't talk, but talking to you helps me think."

While he translated the boring passages, Mello's mind was spinning. What in the world was he supposed to do? Should he get together with Matt, despite what Patrick would say? Or should he play it safe and try to ignore the feelings that were taking over him? But there was no way he could ignore these feelings, not when Mello felt them as strongly as he did.

Maybe he _was_ supposed to be with Matt. Mello knew that the was a guy, but it felt so right to be in love with him, like it was meant to happen. True, society said that it was wrong for two guys to love each other, but since when did Mello care about society?

Mello was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Alicia calling him for dinner. When he heard her at last, he put Alecto back in her cage and walked down to the kitchen, where both of his parents were sitting at the table. After getting some grilled chicken from the stove, Mello took his designated place at the island and waited to see who would be the first to break the silence.

"So how was school?" Alicia asked.

"Okay, I guess. Light directed the announcements today." Mello replied.

"Is that a good thing?" Alicia wondered.

"Oh yeah." Mello grinned. "But he doesn't like to do it, so it's great when he actually does direct."

"Alicia, I'm going to need to stay at the dealership late tomorrow night." Patrick said out of the blue. "We need to stay and sign some contracts for this new thing that's being passed."

"That's fine by me. But I have to take Jessica to her chemo session, too." She looked at Mello and said, "Mello, you're going to have to have dinner by yourself. Is that okay?"

"It's fine, Mum." Mello assured her. "No problem."

"Did you see that they passed that law in California about gay marriage?" Patrick asked.

The tension in the room shot up infinitesimally. Mello held his breath for several seconds, waiting to see what his father would do, and he could tell that Alicia was getting anxious as well.

"I don't see why two guys or two girls should get married. It's weird, not normal and it goes against the Bible. And furthermore…"

Mello didn't listen to the rest of Patrick's lecture. He'd heard it before. And it now affected him personally, since he was quite certain that he was gay at this point.

"Are you listening to me, Mihael?" Patrick forced Mello back into the conversation.

"Um, yeah." Mello nodded without knowing what he was agreeing with.

He finished dinner quickly and went up to his room where he played Runescape with Light and L for a while before he showered and got ready to go to bed. He'd originally planned on playing _The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass_ until he was tired enough to go to sleep, but he found that he wanted to listen to his iPod instead.

Turning on the device, Mello went through _Coming Closer_ from L'Arc~en~Ciel, _Don't Jump_ from Tokio Hotel, a song that he and Matt felt was exceptionally powerful, and _Passion's Killing Floor_ from HIM. After circulating through many albums and artists, Mello decided on _Over and Over_ by Three Days Grace.

Mello had heard the song many times before and he knew that it was a depressing one. Well, it sounded depressing, anyway. He knew the words by heart, but he never really stopped to think about what they meant, what the words were trying to say.

_I feel it everyday. It's all the same. It brings me down, but I'm the one to blame. I've tried everything to get away._

It sort of reminded Mello of his life. When he realized that he liked Matt, he'd tried everything to forget those feelings, to push those emotions out of his head. But the more Mello was around him, the stronger the feelings became to the point where there was no going back. He'd passed the point of no return and there was nothing he could do about it.

_So here I go again. Chasing you down again. Why do I do this? Over and over. Over and over I fall for you. Over and over. Over and over I try not to…_

He knew he wanted to be with Matt forever, but there was always the chance that Matt could get hurt in the process. Not just by Patrick, but Mello himself could end up hurting him. He knew that his past would come back to haunt him, his true past, a past that no one wanted. Could he really force that on Matt without hurting him?

There were two ways of solving this problem. The first reason was the more drastic reason, but it would probably be the easiest to do. Mello had been preparing for a while in case he was going to go with this decision. But was it the right one?

_So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head. I try to live without you. Every time I do, I feel dead. I know what's best for me, but I want you instead. So I'll keep on wasting all my time…_

He knew what he was going to do. There was only one way that he could solve this problem without hurting Matt. He didn't want to do it, but there was no other choice. There was nothing else he could do.

**If any of my readers have read Roulette, they'll remember that I used Over and Over in that as well. ^_^ the next chapter's going to be killer, so look for it soon! reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: plan put into action**


	29. Gorgeous Eyes Shine Suicide

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, Misa and Takada wouldn't exist.**

**Hey yo! It's Mika-chan! This chapter is absolutely VITAL in this story, so pay attention like your very life depends on it! yeah. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

"Ayame, can you do anything like a normal sane person?!"

First block was proving to be a real headache for those in Digital Communications. Ayame was back and she was being completely unreasonable and making no sense whatsoever. In an announcement about the upcoming art show on a Friday night from 6:30-8:15, Ayame had said that it was on a Sunday lasting from 2:34 in the morning until 9:29 at night with a graphic of a totem pole on the screen. Needless to say, everyone was annoyed by her actions and were hoping that they wouldn't put up with it for much longer.

"Of course, I'm sane." Ayame told Sakuya, who was the teleprompter for the duration of the show.

"Obviously not if you fuck up the information this badly!" Sakuya, like Mello, only really swore when she was really irritated about something. So when she started dropping the f-bomb, the others in the control room knew to take cover.

"It's not screwed up, Sakuya." Ayame preferred to think of herself as an angel and refused to do something so low as swear.

"Okay, you two, knock it off." L had to step in to break up the argument.

"I will if Ayame starts acting normally!" Sakuya exclaimed.

"That would be nice, Ayame." Mello said from the audio switchboard, the easiest job besides running the VTR, the device that recorded the show.

"You all aren't the normal ones." Ayame said.

"We aren't the ones who said a palm tree should be the graphic for the soccer game." Matt pointed out.

"Or when the graphic for the SGA election was about dogs." Light said.

At that moment, Aiden came in the room, looking very annoyed indeed about the ridiculously slow pace of the show.

"What's the hold up?" he demanded. "Saki's starting to get pissed."

"Ayame's being unreasonable." Mello didn't look up from his copy of _Angel Sanctuary_.

"Matt, at least switch the camera to mine. I'd like to get this two-shot set for the beginning." Aiden said. "And Light, could you choose an intro?"

"Got it." Matt and Light said monotonously.

They didn't like it when Aiden started giving orders, but they didn't want to have him angry either.

The show took about an hour to record. The prompter kept acting up, which showed how decrepit the system was. Mercifully, Light had taken the role of director as well as managing his VTR duties. Ayame, naturally, went and complained to the teacher about how she was being left out, but those in the class felt that she really had no right to criticize when she was being overly incompetent.

By the time English rolled around, Matt looked like he was ready to commit several acts of homicide and this remained about the same when their assignment was given: work with a partner to translate a chapter of _Wuthering Heights _and six pages of _The Taming of the Shrew_.

"Why do we have to translate such archaic English?" Matt demanded ten minutes later as he whipped out his Japanese-English dictionary.

"It's better than old English." Mello said. "Remember when we had to translate _The Epic of Gilgamesh_?"

"God, that was a nightmare…" Matt groaned, remembering the horrid memory. "But at least we don't have to do it again."

"I guess." Mello said. "But I'd still rather not do this."

"Then why sign up for the class?" Matt wondered.

"I have no idea." Mello shook his head, referring to his dictionary. "Then again, this should be easy for me since I'm supposed to speak it at home."

"But it isn't?" Matt assumed.

"Nope. Mum knows English is hard for me, so we use Japanese at home when Dad's not around." Mello said. "And I try to avoid talking to Dad, so I don't use English much at all."

"I remember when my mom tried to learn English." Matt said. "It was after she tried to learn Portuguese, Thai, Latin and Norwegian."

"Why so many?" Mello couldn't see why any sane person would want to learn so many languages.

"Mom goes through phases of things. She'll be interested in something for a few weeks, then move on to something else." Matt explained. "The fencing lessons were the worst."

"Sounds pretty bad." Mello smiled.

"You can't possibly imagine." Matt shuddered.

AP Psychology wasn't much better. Aiber had decided to move on to psychological diseases and the disease of the day was Parkinson's.

"Didn't Hitler have Parkinson's?" L wondered, trying to remember back to their WWII class.

"That's what they think, yeah." Mello nodded.

"But they think that he may have had syphilis, too." Matt prompted.

"The leader of Nazi Germany with an STD?" L smiled. "That sounds rather amusing, no?"

"Well, he probably didn't get it from whatshername." Mello said in reference to Eva Braun, Hitler's girlfriend/wife.

"So he was cheating on her?" Matt questioned.

"Jeevas! Keehl!" Aiber shouted quite randomly. "What are you two talking about?"

"If Hitler had syphilis or not." Mello said, to which the whole class responded by giving the two teens unusual stares.

"Might I ask why, Mr. Keehl?" Aiber wanted to know.

"We were talking about how he died, sir." L chimed in.

"Well, save your little Nazi discussions for another time." Aiber turned to another slide on the PowerPoint presentation.

"I bet the whole class thinks were insane now." Matt said an hour later as the teens were walking down to lunch.

"Ah, they've always known that." Mello shrugged.

"They've thought you were crazy for years, Matt." L pointed out.

"Whatever." Matt shrugged it off.

"And you are, Matt." Mikami said as the three boys reached their lunch table.

"Who asked you, Teru?" Mello dove into his pizza.

"So what are the plans for today?" Misa asked.

"No idea." Light took a drink of his Sunny D.

"I think Misa and I are going on a date later tonight." Near said.

"Oh! Light and I should go on one, too!" L exclaimed.

"What brought that on?" Sakuya wondered.

"I dunno." L shrugged. "We haven't been on a date in a while."

"Neither have we." Mikami said to Sakuya. "Wanna go somewhere?"

"I have to go to my aunt's tonight." Sakuya said.

"Are Mello and I the only ones with free schedules?" Matt questioned, ripping the crust off of his grilled cheese sandwich.

"Looks like it." Misa nodded.

"I'm going to be home alone for most of the night." Mello said, even though he was thinking about his plan in the back of his head.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do." Light grinned.

"You pervert, Light!" Matt threw his crust at the Yagami.

"Well, you've done it with your boyfriends, Matt." L reminded him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about Akira?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten about him." Matt snapped.

Sakuya, sensing that this was a sensitive subject, decided to derail completely and said, "So has anyone seen the new episode of _Lost_ yet?"

"I don't watch American TV." Mikami said.

"I'm going to." Misa chimed in.

"I never really got into it." Near said.

Sakuya gaped at the seemingly albino teen and said, "Oh, it's amazing!"

And she launched into a detailed explanation of the entire show, with Misa adding bits in as well. Mikami looked bored, no doubt wondering why he had such a crazy girlfriend. Matt and Mello had started talking about _Final Fantasy IX _and how the end of _Kingdom Hearts II_ was completely unrealistic.

* * *

As soon as Matt stepped in the door, he could tell his mother was up to something. For one thing, Angela had candles lit all over the house, which was something that only happened once in a blue moon since Sirius could easily knock them over and engulf the house in a fiery inferno. The strongest clue, perhaps, was the fact that she was making grilled shrimp and chicken, which happened to be Matt's favourite dinner. Angela usually only made grilled shrimp and chicken when she wanted her son to do something, so this naturally made Matt suspicious.

When he walked into the kitchen, he found Angela peeling the shells off of tiny shrimps, the shells resting not far from a bowl of pre-cut chicken.

"What's going on, Mom?" Matt demanded, throwing his backpack down on the floor.

"I'm making grilled shrimp and chicken." Angela replied, sounding overly cheerful.

"Yeah, I know." Matt said. "What do you want?"

Clearly surprised, Angela replied by saying, "I can't make your favourite dinner without being under suspicion?"

"You only make it when you want something from me." Matt knew his mother all too well. "So what's going on?"

Angela sighed and said, "I know you probably won't like what I have to say…"

"Then why say it?" Matt grabbed a Coke from the fridge and popped the tab.

"Because I think it's important." Angela replied, throwing a shrimp shell in the designated pile.

"So what is it?" Matt questioned.

"I want you to think about going out with Mello." Angela said.

If Matt had been drinking his soda, he would most certainly have spit it out in surprise.

"You want me to do _what_ now?!" Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I know you heard me, Matt." Angela said.

"And why should I?" Matt was doing pretty well in his attempt to keep his voice at a single level. "How do you know I even feel that way about him?"

"It's obvious, Matt." Angela responded.

"How?" Matt demanded.

"When he's over, you change drastically. You may not notice it, but you seem more at ease with yourself, even more so than when you're with Light or L." Angela faced her son. "And I can tell that Mello won't hurt you again like Near did. It was hard to watch you after you two broke up."

"It wasn't that bad." Matt lied.

"Don't lie, Matt. I could see how miserable you were." Angela said. "Mello could give you a chance to feel normal again."

"I feel normal now." Matt took a drink from his Coke.

"Just think about it, okay?" Angela said. "I just don't want to see you miserable anymore like you were before Mello showed up."

"Yeah, whatever." Matt rolled his eyes before making his way up to his room.

How in the world had she noticed so quickly? Matt had always thought that his mother didn't notice much about his friends, but she had clearly noticed that he changed when Mello was around. He knew this was true, and when he was with Mello, he felt like he didn't have to hide from anyone. He felt that he could tell Mello anything and not have to worry about loosing his best friend.

With these thoughts still in his head, Matt pushed open the door to his room and found Sirius curled up asleep on his bed. When the door shut, however, the calico's eyes snapped open and followed Matt around the room.

"What are you doing, Sirius?" Matt smiled, watching the cat.

He knelt by his bookshelf in search of volume 12 of _Vampire Academy_ when he found Mello's copy of _Chrono Crusade_. Mello had probably forgotten it when he had stayed over and Angela, thinking it had been Matt's, had most likely shelved it with the other manga.

"I guess I'll just have to take it over to him later." Matt shrugged before he turned on his computer and started to play _World of Warcraft_.

* * *

The Keehl house was silent except for a set of footsteps that walked from the second level to the kitchen. Mello was going to carry out his plan and there could be no chance for failure. He'd made up his mind and he wasn't going to back down now.

When he reached the fridge, Mello grabbed bottle of anti-depressants and made his way back to his room. He pulled out his iPod and set the track for _Over and Over_. It was a very important song to him right now and he'd only be able to carry out his plan if he was listening to it.

Reaching into his backpack, Mello found the spiral with the poem in it, ripped it out and after folding it carefully, stuck it in an envelope with a name written on the front before placing it on his bed.

All was set. It was time for action.

Mello's hand found the bottle of medication as the song started for the second time. He flipped the top off and poured a handful of the pills into his open palm. After hesitating for the briefest of moments, Mello brought his hand to his lips and swallowed the pills.

He felt nothing for a few seconds, but then he started to feel light headed and before he knew it, he was loosing consciousness.

A second set of footsteps could be heard throughout the house now, but they didn't belong to any of the residents. Instead, they belonged to the one person Mello didn't want to see, the one who had changed his life forever.

Even though he was fading, Mello could tell the footsteps were growing closer. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw him, the terrified look in his gorgeous eyes, and knew that this was the only answer.

"Oh, shit! _Mello!_"

***hides under table* don't kill me yet! you'll never know if Mello will be okay! Believe me, I hate this as much as you do, but it had to happen! I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly, but it might be a while because of school. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: panic, confusion and poems**


	30. Interlude

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! I hope I can come out from hiding now...I feel that a lot of people are enjoying this story, but I need to clear something up.**

**I know I have said this before, but I really don't mean to offend anyone who is in this position. I understand how serious this is and I certianly don't want people to think that I am taking this lightly. I have friends with depression and friends who are gay. While I don't understand exactly how it feels to go through something like this, I know that there are people who are going through something like this. Again, I don't mean to offend anyone. If I have, I honestly didn't intend to do so.**

**Now that that's out of the way, on with the deadly tale!**

As Matt looked back on later days, the next few minutes became a blur. He remembered checking for a pulse and calling an ambulance, but that was pretty much it. Once he thought about it, he remembered the little things in the room: the iPod, the bottle of anti-depressants, the envelope on the bed. He grabbed the anti-depressants, figuring that it would be helpful for the doctors in case they needed to know what Mello had overdosed on, but he had ignored all of the unimportant information.

He _did_ remember staying with Mello while he waited for the ambulance and riding to the hospital with him. He had called Alicia while they were en route to the hospital and told her what had happened. She was absolutely hysterical, which was only natural, but she couldn't leave her sick friend. Sensing that he should be doing something, Matt offered to keep her informed about how Mello was doing, which she seemed to appreciate.

While the ambulance was speeding toward the hospital, Matt's hand was wrapped around Mello's in what could be considered a death-grip. It was almost as if Matt hoped that Mello could tell that he was there, even though the blonde was unconscious and most likely comatose. Perhaps holding Mello's hand was an attempt for Matt to calm down, to give him a chance to realize that his best friend could pull through this.

Once they had reached the hospital, Mello was whisked away to have his stomach pumped, leaving Matt to wait in the waiting room. Only then did he start to make phone calls.

The first call was to Alicia, letting her know what was going on, and promising that he would let her know as soon as something changed. The second was to Angela, who had probably wondered where her son had gone off to and why he hadn't returned home. After asking for permission, Matt was allowed to stay with Mello until his condition became stable. The next calls went out to Light and L, Sakuya, and Misa and Near. Matt had figured that Mikami wouldn't really care much about Mello, considering that the two had such conflicting pasts.

After the phone calls were made, Matt slid down to the floor, feeling completely helpless. His best friend could be dying and there was nothing he could do to help him. It was agonizing.

Light and L were the first to arrive. They had decided to go to the movies, which was near the hospital, so it didn't take them long to reach the medical centre.

"How is he?" L demanded as he and Light dashed into the crowded waiting room.

"They're pumping his stomach right now." Matt informed them. "They told me that he has to be on a ventilator, which I guess is standard procedure, but they still need to determine if he's comatose or not."

"Mello's in a coma?" Light was clearly shocked by this information.

"They're not sure. Apparently you have to meet certain requirements to be considered comatose." Matt explained. "They've been trying to get him stable, so they haven't had time to figure out if he's in a coma or if he's just unconscious."

"What did he _do_?" L wondered, sinking into a chair.

"Apparently he tried to OD on his anti-depressants." Matt said slowly.

"But why?" Light and L asked together.

"No idea." Matt shook his head. "I have a hunch, but I really have no idea."

"Will someone tell me what's going on?!"

Sakuya, Misa and Near ran into the room, all three looking like they'd just run a triathlon.

"Mello tried to OD on his anti-depressants." Light said, for Matt looked incapable of saying it for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Why?" Misa demanded. "Why would he do that?"

"I have a guess, but other than that, I don't know." Matt said, his voice cracking slightly.

"What's your theory?" Sakuya wondered, sitting down next to L.

"I don't think Mello would want anyone to know about it." Matt shook his head.

"Is he going to be okay?" Near wondered, his face a great deal whiter than normal.

"They don't know if he's in a coma or not." Light said because again, it seemed like Matt would crack from saying it.

"How can they not know?" Misa wondered.

"It takes certain things to be in a coma, Misa." Sakuya explained.

"Oh, okay." Misa nodded.

"Does his mom know what's going on?" L wondered, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I've been letting her know what's going on." Matt nodded.

"That's good." Near said. "She'd be very upset if we didn't tell her about Mello."

"I'm just wondering why he did it." Sakuya frowned. "Has anyone else noticed that he was going to do this?"

"Nope." Light said, while everyone else shook their heads in silence.

"He used to cut, but I've been helping him stop." Matt said. "But stopping cutting shouldn't have led to this." He remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "God, why did I let this happen?"

"This isn't your fault, Matt." Misa assured him. "Nobody's to blame for this."

"Yes, it is!" Matt seemed angrier with himself than he had at anyone for a long time. "I'm with him almost all the time. I should have been able to tell that he was thinking about killing himself!"

"Mello doesn't like to get people involved, Matt. He'd rather deal with the pain alone than involve others." Sakuya said. "It's not your fault."

"He'd had a hard time trusting people after what happened before he moved here. It's taken him this long to be able to tell people how he feels." Matt said. "Because he was afraid of getting betrayed again."

"But that doesn't mean that you're to blame for this." Light said.

Matt didn't say anything. He simply drew his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his arms, blocking out the world.

Alicia arrived about half an hour later. She was completely frantic, a normal response for someone in her position, but seemed to calm down once the doctor, Dr. Sanchez informed her that Mello's condition was stable. Her second piece of news, however, made everyone's heart skip a beat.

Mello was comatose and it didn't look very good.

He was on a ventilator, which she assured them was normal for OD patients. A special kind of medicine was also being given to him via IV, which was standard procedure. Dr. Sanchez told them that she had no idea when Mello would wake up, or even if he would wake up at all. After a few moments of conversation with the doctor, Alicia made her way up to her son's room.

Once she had left and Dr. Sanchez had returned to her other patients, the room seemed to have a dead sort of aura. It was as if a cloud was hovering over everyone's heads. No one noticed as accident victims and cardiac arrest patients bustled in and out of the room. All they could think about was whether Mello would pull through.

Alicia stayed with Mello for about an hour. Once she had returned, Sakuya, Near, Misa and Light had to return home due to the late hour and their parent's lack of understanding about the sensitive situation. When she stepped back into the waiting room, Alicia found that the room was nearly empty except for a young man with a broken leg, a girl with flu-like symptoms, and L and Matt.

"How is he?" L asked.

"He's not good, but he's stable." Alicia told him. "The only thing we can do is to wait for him to wake up."

"And they have no idea when that will be…" L said.

"Matt, I found something that Mello must have written for you." Alicia said, looking at the redhead.

Matt, who had been sitting in his secluded posture, looked up and faced Alicia.

"I went back home to see if I could find what he had overdosed on." She began. "In case the doctors needed it, you know."

"I brought it with me." Matt nodded.

"I noticed. Anyway, I found this on his bed." Alicia handed him an envelope with his name written on the front. "He must have wanted you to read it. I haven't opened it."

Matt took the envelope on his hand and said, "Thank you."

"I should be getting home. I still need to tell Patrick what's happened." For one reason, a trace of anger flashed through Alicia's tired eyes when she mentioned her husband's name. "Will you two come back to see him?" Alicia asked.

"Definitely." Matt said while L simply nodded wordlessly.

"I know he will like that." Alicia said. "I hope this all ends soon."

And with that, she walked out of the hospital and into the obsidian night beyond the sliding doors. Matt looked at the envelope in his hand, recognizing Mello's handwriting on the front, and almost didn't hear L speak to him.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "You want to go first?"

"He's your best friend." L said, putting a hand on Matt's shoulder. "And he probably wants to see you more than anyone right now."

"Okay." Matt slowly stood and walked to the door before he turned back and said, "Could you wait for me?"

"If you want me to." L said without a second's hesitation.

"Thanks." Matt nodded before walking out of the room.

Dr. Sanchez had told everyone what room Mello was in, so Matt didn't need to ask the receptionist who stood outside the waiting room. He kept saying the three-digit over and over in his head, as if the numbers would produce some sort of answer to bring Mello out of his coma.

While he walked up the stairs, Matt was preparing himself for what he would see. He knew that Mello wouldn't be like his normal self. He was in a coma, which meant that he couldn't respond to any sort of stimuli, which meant that he couldn't communicate with people. The Mello in that room was on a ventilator so he could breathe and was possibly inches away from death.

When he reached the room number, Matt's fingers found the cold steel handle and pushed down, allowing the door to be opened. The sight beyond the door was still shocking to him, despite all of the preparation he had done.

Mello was in the hospital bed, his usually aquamarine eyes closed. He had a tube in his mouth, which led to the ventilator, and an IV needle protruding from his arm. His skin was cold, almost icy compared to Matt's warm hand. But his heart rate was steady, which was a huge relief to Matt. Anything was better than the single tone, the tone that no one wanted to hear.

Matt slowly approached the bed and sat down in the nearby chair. Taking Mello's hand in his, he squeezed it gently before saying, "Hey, Mello. It's Matt."

He had heard somewhere that people in comas can hear their surroundings, even though they couldn't communicate with the rest of the world. It was believed that if a person in a coma heard their friends and family, they would increase their chances of waking up. So Matt figured that it was worth a shot.

"Why did you do this, Mels? What could have possibly happened to make you want to kill yourself?" Matt asked sadly. "I told you that you could tell me anything. You know that I'll always be here to listen." He laced his fingers through Mello's and said, "I don't want you to suffer alone, Mello. I know that things aren't that easy for you, but you don't have to do this."

Matt could feel the tears forming in his emerald eyes, but he knew he had to hold them back. At least until he was away from the hospital and in the safety of his room.

"It's like that song. _Save Me_ from Simple Plan." Matt said. "You know, _I'll be there for you_. I know the song is supporting someone with cancer, but it sort of applies to the situation here, Mello." He looked at Mello's closed eyes and said, "You don't have to deal with your pain alone. That's what best friends are for. We're here to take away some of the pain." He hesitated before saying, "It's okay to trust your friends, Mello."

So he sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, simply holding Mello's hand so Mello would know that he wasn't alone.

Matt knew about Mello's family situation, about his homophobic father, about his cutting habits. But Mello had dealt with them without resorting to violence. Something bad must have happened to make Mello do something as drastic as attempt suicide.

After a few moments, Matt remembered a song that Mello had mentioned. Matt hadn't heard the song before, so Mello played it's English equivalent, since neither of them could understand the original German. It was a powerful song and Matt thought that Mello needed to hear it one more time.

"_I scream into the night for you. Don't make it true. Don't jump. The lights, they won't guide you through. They're deceiving you. Don't jump. Don't let memories go of me and you. The world is down there out of view. Please don't jump. Don't jump. And if all that can't hold you back, then I'll jump for you_."

True, Mello hadn't jumped off of a building, but the message was loud and clear. The purpose of the song was to try and find an alternative to suicide. It was trying to tell teens to find another way to deal with their problems. After a minute of silence, Matt repeated a line of the song.

"Just take my hand and give it a chance."

By this point, Matt had given up on holding back the tears and they were now streaming down his face. He'd really believed that Mello was starting to get better. Now he'd done something that could have ended his life forever. If Matt hadn't gotten there at the right time, Mello could be dead. Matt's best friend would no longer be alive. He'd be buried six feet under the ground, never to be seen or heard again.

And it had almost happened. Matt had found Mello just before it was almost too late. It was scary to think about.

Realizing how late it was, Matt said, "Mello, I have to go now. But I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."

Slowly releasing Mello's hand, Matt stood and walked out of the room, but not before looking back at the blonde lying in the hospital bed.

When he had walked inside the stairwell, Matt became aware that he was still holding the envelope that Alicia had given him. If Mello had gone to the trouble to write out what could very well be a suicide note, he must have thought that his attempt at taking his life would succeed. Since he was still alive-though he was in a coma-Matt wondered if now was the right time to see the contents of the envelope. If Mello woke up, he could tell Matt about it. But if he died…well, Matt didn't want to think about that. Matt's fingers slowly found the seal of the envelope and opened it to reveal a sheet of paper.

Mello's handwriting was all over the paper, forming sentences to make a poem. Matt could tell that much from the way the words were assembled. The writing was more formal, like the blonde had taken his time to write the poem. Teardrops occasionally obscured some of the words, though Matt could still read what they said. Mello had obviously been crying while he wrote the poem. Deciding that he might as well get the worst out of the way, Matt's eyes found the first line of the first stanza.

_The only world I used to know_

_Was in different shades of grey._

_How could I know my life would change_

_When I met you on that day?_

_You introduced to a brand new world,_

_With colours I never knew._

_You showed me how those colours contained _

_So many different hues._

_I had never known the world outside_

_My grim and painful life._

_You showed me that there's another world_

_Without pain, grief and strife._

_For the first time in my entire life,_

_I felt like I belonged._

_I should have been able to see_

_That something would go wrong. _

_Before I knew it, you had changed_

_The entire world around me._

_So much, in fact, that I became_

_What I knew I couldn't be._

_Something about you made me think_

_That what I feel is right._

_But it's the thing that makes me worry_

_All throughout the night._

_I told you how I feel._

_And I'm glad that you accept me._

_The sad thing is, there's someone else_

_Who always wants to change me._

_He knows that I have changed_

_Since the day that I met you._

_And I know that it's his mission_

_To hurt, destroy or kill you._

_So I know that I must do._

_There's no way to change my mind._

_You know how I feel about you,_

_But I can't hurt you this time._

_This is what I have to do._

_I'm so sorry that it must be like this._

_I'd rather end my life then have _

_You suffer because of a kiss_.

Matt remained at the top of the steps, his mind numb, his body unable to move. So that was what this was about…it made perfect sense when he read the last line, the last tear-stained word.

This whole thing was about Mello's relationship with Matt, how Matt had changed his life, how Matt had helped him realize that he was gay. But was Matt the one that Mello was talking about when he said "something about you made me think that what I feel is right?" Matt couldn't have changed Mello _that_ much, could he? Unless Mello was talking about something else entirely…

It was too much for Matt to deal with. He slowly made his way down the stairs and out to the waiting room where L was still waiting in a chair, though he was now reading a magazine to ease the boredom. When the redhead entered the room, however, the raven rushed over to him and asked, "You okay?"

"I'm going to head home, if that's okay." Matt said, the exhaustion obvious in his voice.

"Yeah." L nodded. "I'll stop by to see him tomorrow."

"Okay." Matt nodded as well before walking out to the midnight that awaited him.

He wasn't aware of how he got home. All he knew was that his feet seemed to have a mind of their own. Maybe it was because Matt was lost in his thoughts, trying to make sense of the last few hours.

Angela was asleep when Matt arrived home, so he trudged up the steps and made his way into his room where he sank into his bed and stared out the window at the crescent moon.

"I'm loosing him." Matt said as the tears escaped once again.

So he sat on the edge of his bed, allowing the tears to cascade down his face, before his head hit the pillow and he succumbed to the gentleness of sleep.

**I tried to be as medically accurate as possible. Again, I hope I'm not offending anyone with this. That being said, the poem Mello wrote is MINE. If I find that anyone is using it, or any of the other poems in this or any of my stories, you can be assured that I will take action. That being said, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: second visit**


	31. Stay With You

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

**Hey, yo! It's Mika-chan! I'm so sorry this is really late! I was doing tech stuff for my school play and I had no time to work on it. Then I had to reread what I had written and remember what I'd planned for the next chapter. But it's all good now. ^_^ on with the deadly tale!**

When Matt woke up the next morning, he couldn't remember why he felt so exhausted, so miserable. He remembered that something had happened, something that was probably a bad thing, but he had no idea what it was.

Then he remembered that Mello had almost overdosed and was in a coma. The feeling of helplessness washed over him like a tidal wave and he forced himself not to have another breakdown. Crying wouldn't help Mello wake up.

Matt dressed in a daze, not really noticing what he was doing. He knew it was bad when he tried to put his shirt on his foot. After properly dressing, Matt remembered that he had to feed Sirius, who was, for once, waiting patiently on the bed. Maybe the calico could tell that something was wrong with his owner and decided that it was best to leave him alone.

Trudging out to the hall, Matt went to the closet by the bathroom where the cat food was kept. Sirius liked to eat in Matt's room and the redhead never felt like making the trek down to the garage where the cat food had previously been stored.

After feeding Sirius, Matt decided that he would do something to occupy his mind so he could take his thoughts off of Mello. He was just about to start playing _World of Warcraft_ when _Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger_ could be heard throughout the room, which meant that Matt's cell phone was ringing. It took a minute to find the phone, since it was in the pocket of the jeans he had worn the night before. Without even bothering to check the caller ID, Matt simply answered the call.

"Yeah?"

"_So, how're you holding up?"_ Of course L would check up on Matt.

"I'm okay, I guess."

"_You sound like you just woke up."_

"Yeah, I did."

"_Okay, then. You're going to see him today, right?"_ Matt knew who the raven was talking about.

"After lunch, yeah. Have you seen him yet?"

"_I went with Misa and Near earlier this morning." _

"Earlier? What time is it?"

"_Almost noon_."

"How in the world did I sleep so late?!"

"_You're under a lot of stress, Matt. It's only natural that you'd sleep a while."_

"If you say so."

"_But don't overdo it, okay? We don't need you in the hospital, too."_

"I won't."

"_Want me to check in later?"_

"I'll be fine, L. Thanks for asking, though."

"_Okay. Maybe we can stop by the hospital after dinner."_

"We'll see if that plays out. Talk to you later, L."

"_Bye."_

Flipping the phone shut, Matt had to marvel at the fact that it was almost noon. Why in the world didn't Angela wake him up? Maybe she knew what was going on between her son and Mello. She seemed to figure out just about everything else.

Putting the phone in his pocket, Matt went down the steps to the kitchen, where he found Angela doing a newspaper crossword puzzle at the table.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Matt demanded as he tossed a Hot Pocket in the microwave.

"Because I knew you needed sleep. You were at the hospital until well after midnight." Angela replied.

"It was one in the morning, Mom." Matt corrected her.

"I know you understand what I'm saying, Matt." Angela said.

"I'm going to visit Mels today, all right?" Matt said, leaning against the counter.

"Okay, but don't get too stressed out." Angela said.

"I won't, Mom. I just need to know that he's okay." Matt said as the microwave beeped and he took out the Hot Pocket.

"He may not even be able to realize you're there." Angela was scribbling on the newsprint.

"He can tell." Matt said before biting into his lunch. "I know he can."

"You really care about him, don't you?" Angela said, giving her son a half-smile.

"Why do you think I'm freaking out so much?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"I have my own thoughts on the matter, but you don't need to know about them." Angela said.

"I don't need you interfering with my life, Mom." Matt glared at his mother.

"I'm not interfering, Matt." Angela retorted. "I'm merely observing."

"Whatever." Matt finished his lunch and said, "I'm going over, okay?"

"Okay. Just don't stay there too long." Angela said.

"I'll be home before dinner." Matt assured her.

It was a lonely bike ride to the hospital. The streets were full of noisy cars and teens skateboarding. Children kept trying to cross the street into oncoming traffic only to be stopped by their parent.

After checking in at the reception desk, Matt found the stairwell and headed for Mello's room. He hated everything about hospitals. The way they smelled, the way they looked, the aura that enveloped all that merely stood in a vacant corridor. It was downright depressing.

Matt found himself at Mello's room moments later, staring at the number just outside the door. He had to remind himself again that Mello wouldn't be able to respond or use any form of communication. He would simply lie on the bed in a somewhat vegetative state. It was terrifying to think about.

Pushing the steel handle down, Matt walked into the room, his emerald eyes latching onto Mello's motionless body. He could see the blonde's chest slowly rise and fall, so he knew that Mello was still alive, which was a huge relief.

Matt pulled the folding chair over to the bed again so he could talk to Mello. It might help Mello if he heard Matt's voice, or the voice of anyone he knew. Though he had no idea what to talk about, Matt figured that he might as well try something.

"It's me again, Mello. I told you I'd come visit today, didn't I?" Matt gave a small smile, which felt forced and ersatz. "I really don't know what to talk about. I've never had to communicate with someone in a coma before. It's kind of awkward."

And it was indeed awkward. It felt very similar to talking to oneself. The only exception was that Matt knew that Mello could be listening.

"If you're in a coma when school starts again, I'll take notes for you. So you don't have to worry about that." Matt said. "We're supposed to be starting the Scientific Revolution in AP Euro, aren't we? Well, you won't be missing anything interesting, as far as that goes. But you won't have to deal with Ayame."

It felt weird to talk about school, since both of them usually avoided talking about it entirely, but for one reason or another, Matt felt that it was necessary.

"I really don't know what else to say, Mels. Except that I want you to wake up. Like, really soon." Matt's hand found Mello's and laced the fingers together. "You haven't even been comatose for a full day and I miss you. It feels like you're already gone." Matt was surprised to find the absence of tears in his eyes. "And I don't want that to happen. Everyone's worried about you, Mello."

After a minute of silence, Matt started to talk about anything he could think of so Mello wouldn't have to hear the silence. He started talking about _Kingdom Hearts II_, telling Mello some hints for the later boss battles. He talked about the latest episode of a TV show that the two of them watched. He talked about _Twilight_ and how the movie would be out on DVD soon.

As he started talking more, Matt felt less awkward. He felt like he was just talking to a friend who was unable to speak, which was the case. He didn't think about the fact that Mello was unconscious. All Matt thought about was the fact that Mello could probably hear him and that talking could somehow convince Mello to wake up.

Matt rambled for about an hour and a half before he realized that he had to leave. He'd promised Misa earlier that he'd help her with some Calculus homework and he needed to leave pretty soon if he was to meet her on time.

"Mello, I have to go. I need to help Misa with some homework." Matt said. "But I'll be back later. L might come by with me. I know he wants to see you, too."

After waiting for a few seconds, Matt released Mello's hand and started walking back down to the reception area. There was really no point in trying to get Mello out of his coma. Only he could decide what to do. They could only take things day by day and go from there.

* * *

"So do you think he's going to be okay?"

Light and Sakuya were at the park, watching ducks float across the pond as they chased after pieces of bread other park gatherers were throwing in. The two had originally planned on meeting up with L so the three of them could go play paintball, but the raven bailed at the last minute. So Sakuya and Light had some time to kill, since it was a common fact that paintball is never fun when playing one-on-one.

"Mello? I'm sure he'll be fine." Light said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I haven't known him that long, but I think I can tell that he's not one to let people suffer." Sakuya said.

"No, he doesn't like to force his emotions on people. It's like you said last night." Light nodded. "He doesn't want people to have to deal with his problems. He'd rather deal with them himself."

"And apparently Matt doesn't agree with that." Sakuya shook her head.

"Mello was really distant when he first moved here, almost to the point where he didn't want to talk to people." Light explained, his eyes watching a flock of ducklings wade across the water. "Since he started hanging out with Matt, he's been getting better."

"And that's a good thing." Sakuya nodded.

"Yes, but he still has some problems trusting people." Light went on.

"Why?" Sakuya faced the Yagami.

"I have no idea." Light shrugged. "Matt knows, but I'm guessing that's because the two of them are like Siamese twins."

"Maybe it's because Mello trusts Matt more than you guys." Sakuya picked up a stone and threw it into the water, scattering a flock of geese.

"Maybe. Mello said he was going to tell the rest of us sometime, but we don't know when." Light said, watching a nearby Yorkie yip at a duck.

"When he feels like he can tell you guys." Sakuya said.

"And who knows when that'll be…" Light said. "We've known him for almost a year now."

"Not quite a year, from what Misa told me." Sakuya corrected him.

"Not everything Misa says is true." Light pointed out. "She was convinced that I was straight for the longest time."

"Well, you were for a while." Sakuya said, eyes on a pair of children throwing a Frisbee back and forth.

"This was after it was blatantly obvious that I was going out with L." Light said.

"Oh." Sakuya said. "Well, I guess you have a point, there."

"At least she didn't make a big deal of when she started going out with Near." Light said. "Matt wouldn't have taken that too lightly. Come to think of it, he _didn't_ take the news very well."

"Wait a minute…why would Matt be annoyed that Misa was going out with Near?" Sakuya frowned.

"Because Matt used to go out with Near." Light explained.

"He did?" Sakuya was clearly surprised by this new information.

"Near asked him out on a dare and they stayed together for…I think it was about a year before Near called it quits." Light replied. "Matt was pretty depressed for a while. He's been much better since Mello's showed up."

"Apparently, both have taken a turn for the better, haven't they?" Misa gave a half-smile.

Light nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

**yeah, it's kinda dull, but I hope it's going to get better soon. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: normal day?**


	32. By Your Side I Am Here

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

**Hey yo! It's Xero! That's right! I've changed my name from Mika-chan to Xero. I'm so sorry this is out late. I haven't been in the right mood to write this. But it's far from over, trust me. I know I've said this before, but I really do not mean to offend anyone with this fanfiction, especially people who can relate to this story. I am by no means trying to make the events in this story seem trivial, since they certianly aren't. If you have a problem with it, just stop reading it, already. I'm not going to deal with people who hate this story and have complained about it from chapter six when this is chapter thirty two. That being said, on with the deadly tale!**

Sunday was a pretty boring day for Matt. He slept in until about eleven and went to visit Mello before returning home for dinner. He wanted to go see Mello later that night, but Angela said that he'd already been there for about half the day.

Monday morning rolled around and Matt felt like there was a cloud hanging over his head. And apparently the rest of his friends felt the same way. As they sat in the library before class started, Matt could tell that their attempt at feigning normality was failing. Misa, however, was almost her usual annoying self, which made Matt want to shoot her.

"So I wonder who's going to get camera today?" Sakuya wondered when she and Matt wandered into the studio when the late bell rang.

"No idea." Matt shook his head. "I guess I can try it."

"You've never done it before, have you?" Sakuya wondered, tossing her messenger bag on the ground against the wall.

"Nope." Matt shook his head.

"Well, I can show you." Sakuya offered. "It's really easy."

"That's okay. I've watched Mello do it enough times." Matt said. "And I've done switcher enough times to know what the shots are supposed to look like."

"And Aiden's doing the other camera." Sakuya said. "He'll help you out."

"So what are you doing?" Matt asked as they stood in the hallway between the main studio and the control room.

"I'm either working the prompter or doing graphics." Sakuya replied.

Midori stuck her head out into the hallway and said, "Come on, Sakuya. We need to get started."

"Okay, I'm coming." Sakuya followed her into the control room where Light and L were sitting at the audio switchboard and the teleprompter. "When did you two get here?"

"Before you and Matt did." The raven said.

"But how?" Sakuya opened the program for the graphics computer.

"Um…we walked?" Light's response sounded like a question.

"No kidding?" Sakuya started looking for pictures on the Internet.

"Anyone know where Ayame is?" Kenji, a tiny sophomore, asked from the other end of the room where the rest of the class that wasn't producing a show usually sat on one of the many couches.

"Don't know, don't care." L said happily. "At least she isn't here."

"You really pissed her off, Sakuya." Namikawa said.

"She deserved it." Sakuya shrugged.

The show took a while to produce since the teleprompter kept acting up and the microphones mysteriously turned off when the anchors were speaking. Saki determined that the batteries in both mics were going bad, so they ended up replacing the batteries in both mics.

"That took a little longer than I'd expected." Matt said as he left for English at the end of class.

"It didn't take long by Sensei's standards." Light pointed out, his arm wrapped around the raven's waist.

"I'm sure Sensei will have something to say about the mics mysteriously turning off." Sakuya said.

"It was just the batteries." L said.

"According to you." Sakuya brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Are you saying you believe in ghosts, Sakuya?" Matt grinned.

"No, but apparently Natsuhiro does." Sakuya replied.

"Yeah well, he believes in Espers and werewolves and faeries." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Says the one who believes in vampires." Light smiled.

"Hey, vampires are awesome." Matt said defensively.

"Yeah, we hear you." L smiled.

English wasn't as bad as it usually was, for some strange reason. Just like every other day, the class split into pairs and worked together to translate phrases. The assignment for today was to translate ten pages from _The Iliad _from English to Japanese and to translate seven pages from _The Masque of the Red Death_ from Japanese to English.

"Of course we have to translate it both ways." Matt grumbled from the corner where he was working with Karin.

"At least it's not a full chapter of _Sense and Sensibility_." Karin shuddered, recalling their assignment from a few weeks prior.

"That was horrible." Matt said. "It could always be worse."

"What could be worse than that?" Karin looked at the redhead in wonder.

"It could have been three chapters of _Gone with the Wind_." Matt smiled.

"Oh, good point." Karin nodded, twisting her pen apart and putting it back together. "So…any news on Mello?"

Matt gave her a puzzled look and asked, "How did you know…?"

"Light told me." Karin said. "Does he look like he's going to be coming out of the coma?"

"I have no idea." Matt shrugged. "I can't really judge that kind of thing."

"It's depressing with him gone, isn't it?" Karin said as she looked up something in her dictionary.

"Yeah…" Matt nodded, not really hearing what he was saying.

After translating the atrocious passages, the class then watched a movie: _The Importance of Being Ernest. _And it was in English, which made it all the more painful to watch. Matt used this time to do his homework for AP Psychology. He was supposed to have completed the module for chapter twenty-nine, but he'd abandoned it over the weekend. Too many things had happened to make him think about homework.

As he copied the definitions for the most obscure things regarding behavioural psychology, Matt had to wonder why Mello would try to commit suicide. It was completely out of the blue, which worried Matt even more. Mello had shown no signs of his decision to kill himself. Or maybe there _had_ been signs and Matt just hadn't noticed them…

Matt shook these thoughts from his head. Mello was his best friend. There was no way that Matt couldn't have noticed the blonde's thoughts.

Then he remembered the note, the suicide note in the form of the poem. Feeling the weight of the paper in his pocket, Matt fished out the paper, folded so many times that the creases were in danger of ripping. Though he'd already read the tear-stained words just hours ago, his emerald eyes found them again and absorbed their meaning.

After reading the poem again, Matt remembered his reaction in the stairwell in the hospital that night. That last word, the last tear-stained word made everything fall into place. Kiss. _Kiss_.

It had all been because Matt had kissed him.

A sea of emotion washed over Matt like a wave breaking on a rocky beach. That's what this was all about. It made complete sense now. How could he have not noticed it before?

How could he have known that a kiss would bring such devastating results? Such consequences so horrible and malignant that would make Mello attempt to commit suicide?

Matt had been hesitant about kissing Mello at the convention. He knew Mello was gay, but the blonde seemed to be anxious about it, too. Was Mello trying to determine something? Was he trying to prove some point?

"Dammit." Matt swore under his breath, his curse unheard to his surrounding classmates. If he hadn't gone ahead and kissed him, Mello would be fine. He wouldn't be in a hospital, lying comatose in a bleak white room, but instead in the classroom, watching the pointless movie with the rest of the class.

Matt's lips pressed together in a thin line, as though he was trying to erase all evidence of his kiss with Mello, as if he was trying to pretend that that kiss had never happened.

The bell rang for AP Psychology, making Matt jump slightly. He'd been so entranced with his thoughts that he hadn't been aware of his surroundings. Rising from his seat, the gamer made his way to his next class alone.

AP Psychology was just as boring as any other day. They had started the unit on personalities, which was always an interesting discussion since Freud was mentioned. Aiber, however, seemed to make it a point to make every class as boring as he possibly could.

"This is ridiculous." Matt scowled as he copied down the psychosexual stages of development.

"We could still be on the unit about the anatomy of the brain." L reminded him of one of the more boring units.

"Good point." Matt nodded.

As the class progressed, the notes seemed to get more boring. So boring, in fact, that Matt actually fell asleep. This struck L as peculiar, since the gamer never slept in class. Then he took the recent events into account and the raven realized that this unusual behaviour was probably linked to Mello.

Lunch was a dismal affair. Mikami hadn't been informed of Mello's condition, so much of the lunch break was spent on filling Mikami in on the situation. L and Matt told the obsidian-haired teen that Mello appeared to be better during their visit on Sunday night, but he could always change.

Forty-five minutes later, Matt was taking notes in AP Euro when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, alerting him of a new text message. Checking the Caller ID, the gamer learned that Light had been the one to text him. Matt was puzzled by the actions of the Yagami. Light never texted anyone in class, so it must be of great importance. Opening the message, Matt saw all of two words on the screen.

Mello's awake.

**You all have NOTHING to complain about now. I can hear all of the Mello fans rejoicing. I must say, I'm glad he's alive, too. If anyone has something they wish to discuss with me in regards to this story, let me know via PM. Keep in mind that I will ignore flames, but conscrutive criticism is always apreciated. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: the dream is explained. Mello's haunting past is revealed. (sounds kinda like an anime trailer, doesn't it? ^_^)**


	33. Dancing Flames

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, Misa and Takada would be dead. ^_^**

**Hallo! It's Xero! And I'm not dead. I just had a hard time getting in the mood to write this. But this chapter is CRUCIAL. It explains a lot about Mello's past. But before I start, I have something I need to say.**

**I know you're all probably getting tired of reading this, but some people have a harder time grasping new concepts. By writing this story, I do NOT mean to criticize anyone in Mello's position. I have gay friends and friends with depression. I know how serious depression and suicide are and I am NOT trying to make them seem trivial. They are both horrible things and I wish that both could never happen, but that's the world we live in. If anyone is in something like Mello's position, know that I do not mean to offend you in any way.**

**That being said, there is a flashback in this chapter. The stuff in italics is the flashback. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

Matt could hardly contain his anxiousness as he sat through the rest of AP Euro. He wanted to talk to Mello, find out why he had attempted suicide. He also wanted to know how Light found out about Mello before he did.

Texting back, Matt learned that Light had skipped school, which was quite a rarity. The Yagami took his studies very seriously and never left school if he could avoid it. Matt didn't ask why Light was skipping, because it was so out of character, since he was exceptionally grateful that Mello had finally woken up.

Matt bolted out the door as soon as the bell rang, wanting to go home first to drop his school stuff off. And he wanted to make sure that it was okay for him to visit Mello. Matt couldn't see any reason why Angela would forbid him from seeing the blonde, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Did Light text you, too?" L wondered when the gamer met the raven by his locker.

"Why do you think I'm so nervous?" Matt spun the dial on the lock before wrenching it open.

"I'm not sure 'nervous' is the word I'd use." L said, the beginnings of a smile forming on his lips.

"Than what would you use, L?" Matt shoved his AP Psychology book in his bag.

"Excited." The smile finally broke through on L's face.

"Yeah, I guess that's a better word." Matt nodded, slamming the locker door shut. "I'm just glad he's okay."

"Yeah, it's a huge relief, isn't it?" L followed the redhead toward the busses.

"Why are you asking me?" Matt frowned.

"You should just see yourself around him, Matt." L brushed the raven-black hair from his eyes. "You become a completely different person."

"Yeah, apparently my mom says the same thing." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Well, she's usually right." L said.

A strange techno song sounded, to which L responded by fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. After checking the called ID, the raven laughed and answered.

"What is it, Light?…yeah, I can tell. Matt's really excited…oh, he is?" L shrugged at Matt, who looked very confused. "So come over in a little bit? Yeah, define a 'little bit', Light…an hour. Sounds good…yeah, I love you, too."

"What's going on?" Matt wondered as L stuck his phone back in his pocket.

"The doctors need to run some tests on Mello to make sure he hasn't lost any of his memory, so he can't have any visitors for a while." L shook his head. "Light_ did_ say we could go over in about an hour."

"I guess I'll have to wait a little longer." Matt shrugged.

"Hey, he's okay. That's the important thing." L said.

"Yeah, I know." Matt nodded. "So what are we going to do for an hour?"

"Paintball!" came an energetic voice from behind the teens.

L and Matt turned around and saw Misa behind them with Near running to catch up.

"Why would you want to go play paintball, Misa?" the raven queried.

"She's a bit weird like that." Near finally caught up to the other teens with Sakuya not far behind them. "And Misa, we have a date, remember?"

"Oh, right." Misa frowned. "At Panera, right?"

"No, it was at the new Croatian place." Near sighed.

"You can't even remember your own dates, Misa?" Sakuya smiled.

"Just because you always remember your dates with Mikami doesn't mean that I have to remember mine with Near." Misa scowled.

"Most people remember when they have dates, you know." Matt told the blonde.

"Whatever, okay?" Misa grabbed Near and dragged him off in the other direction, no doubt heading to the restaurant.

"I don't see how they're still together." Sakuya shook her head.

"So what _are_ we going to do?" L wondered.

"There's always the arcade." Sakuya suggested.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Matt grinned. "I haven't gone to the arcade in forever!"

"I still have to beat you in that race car game." L said as the teens started walking to the arcade.

"I'm, like, the master of that, L." Matt smiled. "But you always beat me in those Jeopardy-type games."

"L's smart." Sakuya shrugged.

"Not as smart as Near." L shook his head.

"I'd say that you two are about the same." Matt ran his fingers through his hair.

"You really think so?" L wondered.

This was the topic of conversation until they reached the arcade. L didn't believe that he was as smart as the seemingly younger teen. Sakuya then pointed out the time when it took both the raven and Near under a minute to name all fifty states in the United States. This apparently wasn't enough proof, so Matt had to mention the time when both L and Near had gotten a perfect score on a test in Chemistry. L had said that that had been pure luck, since he was horrible in Chemistry anyway, but Sakuya and Matt weren't convinced.

When they arrived at the arcade, Matt felt like he'd discovered his long-lost friend. He'd been going to the same arcade for nearly all of his life and had become accustomed to the sights, sounds, smells…everything about it. He knew how to beat the hardest games and had even discovered some tricks about the cheesier ones. Matt really had no idea why he still played games that he'd beaten time and time again, but he kept playing them.

"So do you want to challenge me first, L?" Matt smiled.

"Oh, you know it." L dragged the redhead over to the racing game.

It was very amusing for Sakuya to watch the "battle". Matt really was an expert at the game. He knew exactly when to turn and at what speed. Maybe this came from years of playing the game, but Sakuya figured that he'd found some way to beat it online.

"God dammit, Matt!" L screamed as the redhead slammed his car into L's.

"You _had_ to know I was going to do that, L." Matt grinned, his hands firmly gripping the faux steering wheel.

"I thought you'd forgotten about that turn." L scowled, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"Apparently he hasn't." Sakuya smiled.

"Done!" Matt grinned. "Shit! I'm second place!"

"Wow, this is a first for you." Sakuya said.

"I know, right?" Matt shrugged it off.

"I'm gonna play some DDR." Sakuya said as she walked to the ersatz dance floor.

"Oh, dibs!" L raced over to the steel dance mats.

"Okay…" Matt rolled his eyes, following the two.

"So let's do _Cartoon Heroes_ on extreme mode, huh?" Sakuya said.

"No way!" L protested.

"Oh, too late." Sakuya grinned. "It's already set."

"Damn you, Sakuya." L muttered darkly as he took his place on the dance mat.

Watching L dance was probably the most amusing thing Matt had ever seen. Well, attempt to dance. The raven was about as coordinated as a drunken cow when it came to dancing. The fast speed of the song and the complicated dace moves only added to the humour of the situation.

Sakuya was a different story. Sakuya somehow managed to make the complex dance seem graceful, even though Matt had no idea how she did it. The song was so hard that the gamer still had problems with it and he'd learned how to dance to it over a year ago. But Sakuya looked like a professional, timing everything perfectly.

"How are you that good at _Cartoon Heroes_?" Matt asked her when the song ended as L was trying to catch his breath.

"I used to dance when I was a kid." Sakuya shrugged.

"That would explain it." L said before resuming his heavy breathing once more.

"So now what?" Sakuya wondered.

"I'm up for a shooter game." Matt offered.

"The killer moose game or the rabid mosquitoes game?" L asked.

"Rabid mosquitoes?" Sakuya raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask me." Matt shrugged. "Let's do the killer moose one. And L, I think it's a good idea for you to sit this one out."

"Yeah, since I can't half breathe!" L glared at Sakuya.

"Oh, come on, L." Sakuya rolled her eyes.

The killer moose game took up most of their time at the arcade. Matt simply would not believe that Sakuya had beaten him by three hundred twenty six points, so he called for a rematch. It was discovered that Matt's controller wasn't working right for the first game, so the second round resulted in a tie. Realizing that they couldn't determine a winner in a tie round, Sakuya decided that there had to be a sudden death round. L pointed out that because Matt and Sakuya weren't actually shooting at each other, it was somewhat unorthodox to call the round a sudden death round. Matt responded by smacking the raven upside the head before returning to the game and shooting a moose's head off.

"Hey, we'd better get going." L said as he checked his cell phone for the time.

"Going where?" Sakuya frowned, setting down the controller.

"To see Mello." Matt said. "Didn't Light tell you he's awake?"

"Seriously?" Sakuya looked surprised.

"I take it he didn't tell you." L said.

"Crap, I can't visit him today." Sakuya scowled. "I have to go to my cousin's lacrosse game."

"Can't you skip it?" L wondered.

"No, she's making me go." Sakuya shook her head. "I won't get my iPod back if I don't go to her game."

"Okay…" Matt said.

"But tell him that I'll definitely come see him tomorrow." Sakuya said as she followed the gamer and the raven out of the arcade.

"Will do." L said. "See you, Sakuya."

"Later, L." Sakuya waved goodbye as the teens parted.

"I hope he's doing okay." Matt said, the anxiety obvious in his voice.

"He'll be fine, Matt." L assured him. "Light would have told us if he wasn't."

"I guess that's true." Matt nodded.

They reached the hospital after about a ten-minute walk. Upon their arrival, the teens learned that Mello was only allowed to see one visitor at a time if they weren't immediate family. Matt let L go first since the raven needed to be at a dinner with his family in about an hour.

While he waited in the hallway, Matt prepared what he was going to say. He had to choose his words _very carefully_. After all, he didn't want to make Mello feel any worse than he already did. And Mello probably felt God-awful.

L emerged from the room after about half an hour, to which Matt said, "So how is he?"

"Better than I thought he would be." L responded. "He seemed depressed, but what can you expect?"

"Yeah…" Matt said slowly.

"He asked about you." L told him.

"He did?" Matt was surprised.

"He wanted to know if you were here and I told him yes." L said. "I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing."

"I guess we'll find out." Matt said, standing up.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, Matt." L said as he started to walk down the long hallway.

"See ya, L." Matt said.

He placed his hand on the steel handle and pushed the door open. He was half-relieved and half-shocked by what he saw.

Mello was awake, which was a huge relief. He didn't really look any different than he used to. The only major difference was his eyes. Mello's eyes used to be full of excitement and eagerness. It looked so strange to see them filled with the depression and confusion that had taken over.

"Mello…" Matt said slowly.

Mello looked over at the redhead and Matt saw a flash of uneasiness in the teal-green eyes.

"I didn't think you'd actually come." Mello's voice was the same it had always been.

"Why wouldn't I come?" Matt pulled a chair closer to the bed. "I'm your best friend, aren't I?"

"But I tried to kill myself, Matt." Mello said.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't come and see you." Matt said. "I needed to know that you were okay."

"Well, I'm fine." Mello said with a grimace. "As fine as I'll ever be, I guess."

"What's wrong, Mello?" Matt asked.

Mello was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I heard you, Matt."

"Heard me when?" Matt frowned.

"When I was in a coma. I heard you talking to me." Mello replied and for some reason, he was avoiding eye contact with the redhead. "You said that best friends are supposed to take some of the pain away."

"Yeah, that's right." Matt nodded as he reached out to hold Mello's hand.

"But what if the pain is so unbearable that you don't want your best friend to know how much it hurts?" Mello finally looked at Matt.

"What are you talking about?" Matt frowned.

"You asked me how I got this scar once." Mello gestured to the grotesque scar that covered the left side of his face. "At L's house, remember?"

"Yeah…" Matt said.

"Well, I think you should know how I got it." Mello said. "It's part of the reason why I'm so screwed up."

"You're not screwed up, Mello." Matt shook his head. "Not by any means."

"But I think you should know. And I guess I should tell you that it's not a happy story, either." Mello said.

"I would assume so since it obviously didn't end well." Matt said. "So what happened?"

_A four-year-old blonde stood in his backyard, teal eyes wide and attentive as he watched his mother throw various objects into an old oil barrel, though it had been empty of oil for many decades. Alicia Keehl was clearing out some old family records and had told her husband, Patrick, to burn them. _

_Walking over to the oil drum, Mello stood on tiptoes and peered inside. He saw old photographs where the subjects scowled at the camera, obviously bored on the glossy brown paper. Newspaper headlines shouted the news from their time: a raise in gas prices, the assassination of the United States president and the occasional headline concerning a bank hold-up gone wrong. There were old books where the pages were yellowed and frayed, their spines bent and covers hanging on by threads._

"_Mello, what are you doing?"_

_Mello turned and saw his mother walking toward him carrying a stack of old textbooks._

"_I wanna see!" Mello exclaimed, pointing to the inside of the drum._

"_It'll be gone in a few minutes, Mello." Alicia told him. "But you can help me throw these books in. Or do you think they're too heavy?"_

"_I wanna do it." Mello proclaimed._

_He picked up an old government textbook and, with difficulty, dragged it over to the oil barrel. He tried to lift it, but he found that it was indeed too heavy._

"_I can't get it, Mommy." Mello's expression was angry._

"_That's okay, Mello. I can get it." Alicia picked up the fallen textbook and tossed it in with the rest of the abandoned objects. "Daddy's going to set this on fire in a few minutes. When he does, I want you to watch from the porch, okay?" _

"_Okay." Mello nodded._

_Alicia went back inside and Patrick joined his son a few minutes later, bringing with him only a box of matches._

"_Where are you going, squirt?" Patrick asked when Mello started to walk over to the porch._

"_Mommy said I had to watch from the porch." Mello said, his eyes confused._

"_It's okay. You can watch from over here." Patrick told him._

_Mello hesitated for a few seconds before trotting back over to his father. He knew there was something strange in the way Patrick was acting, but he couldn't figure out what it was._

_Patrick took a match out of the box and struck it on the sandpaper. The end of the stick was engulfed in orange fire, which fascinated Mello. He'd never seen a fire start that way before._

_Patrick threw the lit match into the oil barrel, causing all of the artifacts to be consumed by the eager flames. Mello wanted to look inside the drum, but he had a feeling that that wasn't a safe idea._

_Suddenly the drum exploded, sending the dancing flames across the yard, charring the grass. Patrick, who had been standing a bit farther back, hadn't been hurt, but Mello got the full force of the explosion._

_Mello screamed so loudly that glass would have shattered. Alicia ran onto the yard and saw her son's face being devoured by the blazing inferno._

"_What were you _thinking_, Patrick?!" Alicia screamed at her husband as she quickly filled a bucket of water to put out the fire._

"_I didn't think it'd explode like that!" Patrick tried to defend himself._

"_He shouldn't have been that close to it in the first place!" Alicia protested._

_Mello wasn't hearing his parent's arguing. He was so terrified that he thought he was going to die. The fire was eating away at his skin rapidly and he wanted the pain to be over. He didn't really care how he looked. He just wanted it to be over…_

Silence filled the room after Mello's chilling story. Matt was at a loss for words and Mello looked like he couldn't say anything else.

Matt had known Patrick abused Mello for a long time, but he never thought Patrick would do something so cruel.

"Mello, I'm-" Matt started to say.

"Don't say sorry." Mello said. "I'm sick of hearing people say that."

"Okay, then, I'm not." Matt said, even though he knew this was a downright lie. "I never thought your dad would do something so harsh."

"It was partially my fault." Mello said.

"Of course it's not." Matt squeezed Mello's hand.

"If I had stayed on the porch like Mum had told me, I wouldn't look so hideous, now would I?" Mello said, the anger coming out in his voice.

"I don't think you're hideous." Matt said. "So what happened after that?"

"I was taken to the hospital. Apparently I had tried to wipe the fire away, so it got on my hands, but they're okay." Mello explained. "My face got the worst of it, though the right side wasn't as badly burnt as the left."

"So did they have an investigation or anything?" Matt asked.

"Because I was so little and was burnt so badly, yeah. Mum says they inspected the yard and everything, but it was ruled accidental." Mello replied.

"That's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard of." Matt's eyebrows furrowed together.

"I know, I know." Mello said. "But I can't really change that now."

"Mello, is this what you've been dreaming about?" Matt asked, remembering Mello mentioning dreams about fire. "Is this what caused the nightmares?"

"Every night since that day." Mello nodded, his face expressionless.

"Why didn't you tell anyone? You know you could have told me." Matt said.

"You know I don't like to tell people personal things, Matt." Mello said. "It's just something I have to deal with."

"This isn't what made you try to kill yourself?" Matt asked softly.

Mello shook his head and said, "No. That's something completely different."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Matt offered.

"I'll talk about it with Mum. This is something I don't think I can tell everyone else yet." Mello said. "But while I was getting tested today, I found another way to deal with it that I hadn't thought of before."

"What's that?" Matt asked.

"I can't tell you." Mello shook his head. "It involves you. Especially you."

"Okay, if you say so." Matt said. "I'm just glad you're finally opening up, Mello."

"I really am trying." Mello said earnestly.

"I know you are." Matt smiled a little. "And it's not an easy thing. But you're definitely making progress."

The hospital room was silent once again, each teen thinking completely different thoughts. Matt was relieved that Mello was starting to confide in him. He shouldn't have to deal with his pain alone. And Mello was finally realizing that Matt would always be there for him.

**this was so sad to write! And I know I have quite a few readers who would LOVE to skin Patrick alive, but that can't happen. I hope this story is still interesting and not to angst-like. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: can life ever return to normal?**


	34. Anything But Ordinary

**Disclaimer: Do I REALLY need to say it at this point?**

**Hello! It's Xero! Don't expect any updates for a while because I'm graduating next week and then I'll be at the beach with my cousin for a week. And no, I can't bring my laptop with me to write it. I have other things to do besides write this fanfiction, people. And I need a break from it, too. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

Mello's bedroom felt strange to him when he returned from the hospital a few days later. It was almost as if the blonde had been gone for several years and was just returning home for the first time. Everything was right where he left it, which showed that Alicia hadn't gone through his possessions.

Alecto hissed in her cage, clearly wanting to be released from her glass prison. Smiling, Mello opened the cage and let the snake coil around his arm. Alecto stuck out her forked tongue, which she usually did when she was annoyed.

"Well, I've been in a coma for the last few days, Alecto." Mello sat down on his bed, stroking the reptile on her head. "Even if it was my fault."

Mello's teal eyes looked around his room, sometimes resting upon a particular poster. He kept wondering what would have happened if he had succeeded in his suicide attempt. What would become of his room? And Alecto? Well, Patrick would probably get rid of her. He never liked the fact that his son had a snake for a pet and he kept trying to give the python mice from the garage. Mello had told him dozens of times that the mice in the wild were usually infected with diseases that could kill snakes and that Alecto could only eat food from the pet store, but Patrick never seemed to believe him.

Mello played with his lip-ring with his tongue as he thought, something that had become a habit for the blonde. Would anybody have missed him if he had died? His father definitely wouldn't, that much was obvious. Mikami probably wouldn't miss him, either. Though they could stand to be in the same room together, Mello and Mikami still avoided being social as much as possible. Matt would definitely miss him, since the two were just about joined at the hip, as L once said.

A knock sounded at the door and Alicia walked in, carrying a basket of laundry.

"I see someone missed you." She said, gesturing to Alecto, who was still wound around Mello's arm.

"I think she's more mad than anything." Mello shrugged. "You know how she can get."

"Did you tell Matt that you were getting out today?" Alicia asked as she tossed a t-shirt to Mello.

"Yeah. He's probably going to come over later, if that's okay." Mello nodded.

"That's fine by me." Alicia said. "As long as you two don't use the oven for a while. I just cleaned it."

"We don't use it anyway, Mum." Mello said. "You know what fire does to me."

"That's true." Alicia nodded.

"And I can't cook anyway." Mello smiled.

"You can have Matt teach you." Alicia said.

"He burned pasta so badly that we couldn't eat it." Mello said.

"When was this?" Alicia frowned.

"At the beach." Mello responded.

"Then maybe Matt cooking isn't such a good idea." Alicia smiled.

"No, not really." Mello shook his head.

"Well, dinner's going to be ready in about ten minutes, so be ready when I call you." Alicia said as she walked out of the room.

Mello crossed to the other side of the room, where he had all of the equipment needed to clean out Alecto's cage, which probably needed to be cleaned since he hadn't been home for a while. And it would give him something to do while he waited.

About ten minutes later, Mello put Alecto back in her cage and started to walk down the hall to the steps when he heard voices that belonged to his parents. This was strange, since Mello didn't remember hearing his father come home. Walking a little closer to the steps, Mello leaned against the wall as he tried to hear their conversation.

"Mello's home, you know." Alicia said, trying to be casual.

"From where?" Patrick obviously didn't have a clue about Mello's recent suicide attempt.

"From the hospital!" Alicia was clearly astounded.

"Why was he in the hospital?" Patrick wondered.

"He tried to kill himself, Patrick." Alicia's voice was firm.

"Too bad he didn't." Patrick said.

"How can you say that?" Alicia demanded. "He's your _son_, Patrick."

"He doesn't act like he's my son, Alicia." Patrick replied.

Mello knew what was going to come next. Patrick was going to say that Mello was such a disappointment because he didn't play sports and was interested in "weird" things like video games and anime.

"And how should your son act?" Alicia was growing angrier.

"He should be on a sports team and be smart and stuff like that." Patrick didn't have much of an argument.

"Mello is in all honours classes and two AP classes." Alicia reminded her husband.

"But he's in that class with the videos." Patrick retorted as the refrigerator door opened and closed.

"Because he's planning on doing something in the film industry when he gets out of high school." Alicia said.

"And that's a weak job, anyway." Patrick said. "He should be doing something in business."

"Not everyone wants to own a business, Patrick." Alicia said.

"All I'm saying is the kid's turned out to be a disappointment, in my opinion." Patrick said. He then changed the subject by asking, "Why did he try to kill himself?"

"Who knows?" Alicia questioned.

"What, he didn't tell you?" Patrick's voice was slightly sarcastic.

"He won't tell me anything." Alicia replied. "I have an idea about it, though."

"Oh really?" Patrick seemed sceptical. "And what would that be?"

"I'm not going to tell you." Alicia said. "It's not like you care anyway."

"What makes you think I don't care, Alicia?" Patrick demanded.

"You didn't even know he was in the hospital, for one thing." Alicia said coldly.

Mello decided that enough was enough. Making his presence known, he walked down the steps louder than he normally did and entered the kitchen, finding Patrick at the island with a bottle of sakè in his hand and Alicia pulling plates from the cupboard.

Both of his parents tried to cover up the fact that they had been talking about him, but they knew that their son knew as well. Their expressions were enough to tell Mello what they were thinking. But Mello went along with the ersatz charade and tried to pretend that nothing had happened.

* * *

"Akahiro, can you move your camera down a bit? Light says that the shot's a bit off."

When Mello returned to school the next day, he felt like nothing had changed, that everything was the same that it was before he attempted suicide. He certainly didn't miss Ayame, though he didn't think there was anyone who would.

"This is so boring…" Matt complained from the audio switchboard.

"At least you do something." L was in charge of the VTR and was not happy about this in the slightest.

"I'd rather have VTR than audio." Matt said. "Wanna switch?"

"Not really." The raven answered.

"But you were just complaining about it." Sakuya pointed out, lazily leaning against the wall.

"But Sensei won't let me switch." L explained.

"Sensei's a bit weird, though." Saki said, running his fingers through his hair. "Who else would play _D&D_ at three in the morning?"

"Matt." L, Mello, Sakuya and Light said together.

"I'm not that bad." Matt scowled.

"Yes, you are." Light said.

At that moment, Aiden poked his head through the door and asked, "Are we getting started anytime soon?"

"We thought we were waiting on you guys." Sakuya said.

"Well, we're ready when you guys are." Aiden said before retreating back to the recording room.

"Let's get this over with." Matt said.

"What else do you have to do?" L frowned, tossing the VTR remote in the air.

"I got the guide for _Resident Evil III_ a few days ago and I want to read it." Matt said.

"Like you haven't beaten it." Sakuya grinned.

"I just want to find out if I missed anything that I could have done." Matt explained.

"Okay, we're starting now!" Saki shouted, causing everyone wearing headsets to jump.

"Think you're loud enough, Saki?" Mello laughed.

"I don't want Sensei on my case later." Saki rolled his eyes.

It took a little while to get everyone in the recording room to focus. Apparently Sukihoshi had fallen out his chair somehow and that caused quite a racket. Then the prompter stopped working, which wasn't a surprise to anyone since the device was well known for stopping at random intervals, especially if they were recording.

"I'm bored!" Matt yelled as he and Mello went to lunch after English a few hours later.

"We have lunch!" Mello exclaimed. "How could you possibly be bored?"

"I'm talented like that." Matt grinned, causing the butterflies to erupt in Mello's stomach.

"Sure, sure." Mello smiled in response.

When they reached their usual table after getting lunch, Matt and Mello discovered Mikami and Sakuya sitting at opposite ends of the table. This was odd, since the two usually sat next to each other.

"Something wrong?" Matt asked, sitting between Mikami and Mello.

"Not really." Mikami said, drinking from a can of Monster.

"You sure?" Mello frowned.

"Yeah." Sakuya nodded.

"If you say so…" Matt said.

"Why's everyone so gloomy?" Near asked as he reached the table with Misa.

"That's what we were wondering!" Matt exclaimed.

"Where are Light and L?" Sakuya wondered.

"Right here."

And indeed, the raven and his boyfriend could be seen strolling over to the group, carrying the horrendous lunches.

"Anyone have any plans for after school?" Misa asked.

"I have a date with my GameCube." Matt grinned.

"And I need to finish _Kingdom Hearts II_." Mello said, taking a bit out of his chicken sandwich.

"Change of plans." Matt corrected his earlier statement. "I'm going to Mello's."

"You are?" Mello frowned.

"Of course!" Matt exclaimed.

"Have you made any progress, Mello?" Light wondered, biting into an apple.

"I haven't played in a while." Mello said. "I'm still in the Old Mansion."

"Still?!" Sakuya and L yelped.

"You were there when we went to the beach!" Light said.

"I haven't gotten to play very much." Mello said. "I did get to that dual fight with Axel."

"Did you finish it?" Near had no idea what they were talking about, but he figured he could be sociable, unlike a certain teen who was eating quietly and avoiding conversation with anyone.

"I think I was almost done, but then I realized I had to go work on a project with L, so I had to stop." Mello said.

"So you _still_ haven't gotten to the sad part." Matt shook his head sadly.

"Is it really that bad?" Mikami spoke.

"Obviously!" Sakuya and Light said together.

"And none of you will tell me just what's so tragic about it?" Mello asked, now digging into his fries. "Am I right when I assume that something happens to Axel?"

"I'm not saying anything." Misa shook her head.

"Near?" Mello faced the seemingly albino teen.

"I've never played it, Mello." Near answered.

"That would be a good reason why he can't tell you." Matt smiled. "And I'll watch the cut scene with you when I come over."

"You're going to brave it, Matt?" Sakuya asked.

"Obviously." L took a bite of his chocolate cake.

"It's a video game!" Mikami simply did not understand the group of teens that he hung out with.

"You're telling me that you don't grow attached to people in books or movies?" Light asked the obsidian-haired teen.

"Nope." Mikami shook his head.

"Wow, you're boring." Misa took a drink of her strawberry milk.

"She's right, Teru." Mello said.

"Oh, what do you know?" Mikami was obviously angry.

"We should really go the mall sometime." Light said randomly as he ate some more of his apple.

"That was random, Light." Misa said.

"Why would we go to the mall?" Near wondered.

"For something to do." Light shrugged.

"I have a lot of make-up work to do." Mello said.

"That's your own fault, Mello." Mikami said.

"Shut _up_, Teru." Mello's eyes were slits and it became obvious that Mikami had touched a nerve.

"Well, it is." Mikami said.

"Okay, that's enough." Light, as usual, was the one to break up the argument.

"So has anyone read _The Phantom of the Opera_?" Matt asked, changing the subject.

"I've seen the movie." Sakuya replied.

"Why do you ask?" Near wondered.

"Mello and I have to translate it for English." Matt replied.

"Good luck with that one." L said, finishing his cake.

"To or from Japanese?" Misa asked.

"To Japanese." Matt wrapped his arm around Mello's waist, apparently unconsciously.

"Wait, Mello, you speak English, don't you?" Sakuya asked the blonde.

"I'm not very good at it." Mello admitted, feeling a tad uncomfortable because Matt's embrace.

"But do you know it enough to translate stuff?" L asked.

"Like I said, it's really bad." Mello said. "I speak Japanese whenever I can."

"I can't say that I blame you." Misa nodded.

Their conversation was interrupted by the bell that signalled the end of the block. The teens looked at each other in confusion, wondering how half an hour could have gone by so fast.

"That didn't take very long." Mikami said.

"On to AP Euro." Matt groaned.

"You fall asleep, Matt." Sakuya rolled her eyes. "You have no right to talk."

"Touché." Matt grinned.

"Let's get going before we get in trouble." Near said.

"If you say so." Misa dragged her boyfriend away from the cafeteria.

Mello followed Matt and Sakuya off to AP Euro, his mind confused. Why had Matt put his arm around him earlier? The gamer didn't usually do things like that with Mello. So what was going on?

**Things are getting suspicious, aren't they? well, reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: trouble with video games...**


	35. Gaming

**Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own DN.**

**Konnichiwa! It's Xero! And I'm not dead! I was extremely unmotivated to write this after I got back from senior week and I mainly worked on stuff for D&P. I hope this isn't too boring....on with the deadly tale!**

"So we're going to play some KH at your house?" Matt asked when they were on their way home from school.

"I guess so." Mello nodded. "Really, Matt, what happens?"

"You'll see." Matt grinned. "I should probably have a box of tissues ready."

"You're starting to freak me out, Matt." Mello grinned despite himself.

"How so?" Matt wondered.

"Well, I'm starting to think that Axel ends up dying somehow." Mello said.

"I'm not going to say anything about this." Matt shook his head.

"He does die, doesn't he?" Mello looked mortified. "Dammit!"

"I'm not saying anything." Matt said again.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Matt and Mello turned around to see Sakuya and L walking behind them.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Matt wondered as the group started walking away from the school.

"Who are you talking to?" Sakuya and L asked together.

"Both of you, actually." Mello said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Light's coming later. He has to pick up Sayu from school before he comes over." L said.

"And Mikami and I broke up." Sakuya said.

L, Matt and Mello stared at Sakuya. How could she have broken up with Mikami without them knowing?

"When was this?!" the raven wondered.

"A few days ago." Sakuya nodded.

"Who broke up with who?" Matt always wanted to know the juicy details of a break-up.

"It was more of a mutual thing." Sakuya shrugged. "It wasn't working out. Hasn't really since the convention."

"I thought he seemed more distant around you." Mello said. "But I'm sorry that you two aren't together."

"I'm not." Sakuya shook her head.

"Come again?" L was obviously confused.

"He didn't like the fact that I like anime and stuff like that." Sakuya said. "If he didn't know that I like that kind of thing, then he doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does."

"I had the same problem with Hiroshi." Matt nodded.

"Hiroshi?" Mello frowned.

"One of his earlier boyfriends." L explained.

"So what are we getting into today?" Sakuya changed the subject.

"I'm going to Mello's house for a bit." Matt announced happily.

"Are you going to finish _Kingdom Hearts II_?" the raven wondered.

"Apparently so." Mello said. "Even though I think I know what's going to happen."

"Don't tell him!" Matt told the other two.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Sakuya grinned. "I just hope _you_ won't be the one crying, Matt."

"Give me some credit, Sakuya." Matt scowled at her. "I'll just leave the room."

"Oh no, you're not." Mello told the redhead.

"And why not?" Matt protested.

"If it's that bad, you're going to watch it with me." Mello said.

"He has a point, Matt." L said, brushing the obsidian hair from the panda eyes.

"Okay, but you better have a lot of tissues at your house, Mels." Matt said.

"You're freaking me out, Matt." Mello smiled.

"Well, you said you think you know how it ends!" Matt exclaimed.

"The whole game?" Sakuya frowned.

"No, just that part." Mello explained.

"Well, Mello, you live this way, so I guess we'd better get going." Matt pointed to the street where Mello lived.

"Okay, I see how it is." L smiled.

"You know you want to see Light, L." Sakuya raised her eyebrow.

"Cut me some slack, okay?" L rolled his eyes before adding, "See you, guys!"

"Yeah, later!" Mello waved to L and Sakuya before following Matt down his street.

"Mello, is your dad going to be home?" Matt asked.

"He shouldn't be." Mello shook his head. "But I don't care if he is."

"Oh?" Matt was surprised by this news. "And why is that?"

"If he wants to think that I'm gay, then let him think it." Mello's fingers twisted around the crimson rosary around his neck, something he did when he was nervous or thinking.

"Because you are?" Matt asked.

"I think I've concluded that I'm definitely gay." Mello nodded, looking at Matt.

"But you're going to have a hard time hiding it, won't you?" Matt frowned.

"Not really." Mello shook his head.

"But your dad's homophobic to the point of no return." Matt pointed out. "He's going to notice, Mels."

"He's not home much, Matt." Mello said, stepping to one side to avoid running into a fire hydrant. "I'll need to pretend I'm straight when he's home, which isn't very often anymore."

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that that's a good thing." Matt grinned.

"Hell yeah." Mello smiled in reply.

"You know you really do look cute when you smile, Mello." Matt laughed.

"I don't think so." Mello said. "But thanks anyway."

"Oh, no problem." Matt replied.

When they reached the Keehl residence, Matt and Mello found Alicia watching the news on TV in the living room, a cup of tea resting on the coffee table. The steam from the tea rose up into the air and evanesced after travelling a few inches.

"Mum, I brought Matt home." Mello said. "He's making me get past this part in _KH_."

"KH?" Alicia frowned.

"_Kingdom Hearts II_." Matt explained.

"Then why not say _Kingdom Hearts?_" Alicia wondered.

"It's easier to say KH." Mello shrugged. "Is Dad home?"

"He's out with Joe and Andy." Alicia said. "Something about a deal on car parts."

"At least he isn't here." Mello said. "Any idea when he's going to come home?"

"He said probably late tonight." Alicia responded.

"Sweetness." Mello grinned.

"Mels, no one's said that in years." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Well, guess what, Matt?" Mello faced the gamer. "I just did."

"I'll be going to the grocery store in a little while." Alicia said. "I'll let you know when I'm leaving."

"Sounds good to me." Mello said, leading Matt out of the living room and into his room.

As soon as he entered his room, Mello opened the snake cage and allowed Alecto to wind up his arm. The python stuck out her forked tongue, her yellow eyes on Mello.

"I see you've missed me." Mello smiled.

"I wish Mom would let me get a snake." Matt stroked Alecto on the head.

"You know Sirius would eat it." Mello said.

"Aren't we going to play _Kingdom Hearts_?" Matt asked.

"Oh yeah." Mello said.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"No…" but the tone of Mello's voice made it obvious that he had.

"I know when you're lying, Mello." Matt grinned, dragging the blonde out of the room and down the hall.

"Don't give me time to put Alecto in her cage?" Mello laughed.

"She's fine and you know it." Matt said, throwing the blonde in front of the TV and before a very confused Alicia.

"Mum, can we have the TV?" Mello asked. "I'm being held hostage by Matt and he's making me play video games."

"It's fine by me." Alicia said. "Even though I know for a fact that it won't kill you to play video games."

"You have me confused with him." Mello pointed to the redhead.

"I'm not that bad, Mello!" Matt exclaimed, taking Alecto and allowing her to wind up his leg.

"Not from what Mello tells me." Alicia said, walking into the kitchen.

It took Mello a few minutes to connect the PlayStation to the TV. Apparently Patrick had tried to dismember the gaming device in one of his frequent fits of rage and had scattered the cords everywhere.

Once they actually got the game going, Mello and Matt had a blast destroying the Dusks. Every now and then, Matt would take the controller and kill a few of the lesser Nobodies, but it wasn't long before Mello had the controls again.

"I knew he was going to die!" Mello exclaimed when he finally made it to the World That Never Was. "Why did he have to sacrifice himself for Sora? Sora's not even that good."

"Because Sora is Roxas' Other." Matt said. "And you're an AkuRoku fan, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Mello nodded.

"Then you know why I think he killed himself." Matt said, stroking Alecto's head, since the python had made her way up to Matt's upper-arm.

"But still…" Mello said.

Alicia walked into the room and said, "Are you two going on about a video game?"

"Axel just died, Mum!" Mello exclaimed.

"Who's Axel?" Alicia frowned.

Mello pretended to faint before saying, "Probably the hottest guy in the whole game!"

"I'm still not used to hearing that from you." Alicia said after hesitating for a second.

"Well, you'll have to, Mum." Mello said.

"I know, I know." Alicia said.

"I guess your dad's going to have to deal with it." Matt said.

"Yes, he will." Alicia said.

"If I tell him." Mello leaned against the couch.

"I wouldn't tell him, no." Alicia said. "But if he somehow finds out…"

"Mum, you know I can lie easily." Mello said. "I've been pulling it off for quite some time now."

"I know you have." Alicia said.

"He really does lie easily." Matt said. "He told Near that Mikami had stolen his Zanpakuto after the convention."

"And who really took it?" Alicia wondered.

"Sakuya." Matt and Mello said together.

"Well, just be careful around Patrick." Alicia said before walking out to the kitchen.

Matt and Mello continued to play the video game for quite a while. They'd just started to destroy random Heartless in Memory's Skyscraper when the door opened and Patrick walked into the living room.

"What are you doing, Mihael?" he asked when he saw his son.

"Playing video games." Mello said, making sure he spoke in English. He didn't want Patrick getting mad him when he was barely in the door.

"And why?" Patrick asked.

"Because Matt wanted me to get past this part while he was here." Mello replied.

Patrick's eyes darted to the redhead sitting on the couch before he walked into the kitchen and found Alicia making dinner.

"Alicia, may I speak to you in the garage?" Patrick asked.

Alicia, surprised by the tone in her husband's voice, followed him out to the garage as requested.

"So what's up, Patrick?" Alicia asked.

"Who is that?" Patrick demanded.

"Who is who?" Alicia frowned.

"That boy with Mihael." Patrick clarified.

"Matt Jeevas." Alicia explained.

"And he is…?" Patrick questioned.

"Mello's best friend." Alicia said.

"I thought I told you that he wasn't allowed to bring any boys over." Patrick told his wife.

"You never said anything about that." Alicia said.

"I'm pretty sure I did, Alicia." Patrick said.

"Mello can't act like a normal teenager?" Alicia frowned. "When was this decided?"

"When I decided that he was gay, that's when." Patrick said.

"That's ridiculous, Patrick." Alicia said, glaring at her husband. "Mello is not gay."

"But he never says that he isn't." Patrick said. "Until I hear him say he isn't, I won't believe it."

Alicia stomped off, leaving Patrick alone in the garage, his mind spinning. Alicia was definitely hiding something from him. Mello and Alicia both. And he would find out what that was soon enough.

**I know it's short, but I was extremely unmotivated to update. Anyway, Sakuya and Mikami have split! O.o what now?! anyway, I'm leaving for the beach again tomorrow. I hope I'll have lots of reviews when I get back! that being said, reviews equal love!**

**Next chapter: Mello comes to understand something he should have known all along...**


	36. Decisions

**Disclaimer: Must I say is?**

**Konnichiwa! It's Xero! And I'm not dead! I just realized that this story has been going on for over a year! Holy crap! Well, I hope it's not boring anyone. Sorry this has taken so long to come out. I've been really unmotivated to write lately. On with the deadly tale!**

The next morning, Mello and Matt ended up talking about _Kingdom Hearts II_ all the way to school. They were still talking about it when they walked into the studio for their first block class.

"But why wouldn't Axel say that he'd fallen for Sora?" Mello asked as he walked over to camera one.

"He kind of did." Matt said. "Remember? When he was fading?"

"No..." Mello shook his head.

"He said, 'he made me feel like I had a heart. It's kind of funny. You make me feel the same'." Matt said. "Remember now?"

"Oh yeah..." Mello grinned.

"Still talking _Kingdom Hearts_?" Sakuya assumed.

"Mello got to Axel's death last night." Matt threw his backpack down on one of the couches and started to set up his camera.

"How'd you take it, Mello?" Sakuya was trying to untangle the cords for the headsets.

"He did really well." Matt said.

"Thank you, Mello." Sakuya glared at the gamer.

"You guys know that I am fully capable of speech, right?" Mello said from where he sat on the couch.

"Talking about _Kingdom Hearts_?" Aiden asked as he approached the group.

"Yeah." Sakuya nodded. "You play?"

"I couldn't get over Xigbar's death." Aiden said.

"You have a thing for Xigbar?" Mello raised his eyebrow.

"I'm straight, remember?" Aiden explained.

"Oh, that's right." Mello nodded.

"No, Xigbar was my favourite." Aiden shook his head. "Xigbar and Zexion."

"But Zexion died in _Chain of Memories_." Matt pointed out.

"I know." Aiden nodded. "I just thought it was tragic. The Riku Replica coming in and everything."

"Aiden, aren't you supposed to be over here?" Tetsuya asked from the anchor's desk.

"I'm talking, Tetsuya." Aiden said, facing the blonde sophomore.

"But Akahiro says that Sensei wants to get the show going." Tetsuya said.

"Okay, okay." Aiden rolled his eyes and walked back over to the anchor's desk.

"At least Ayame isn't here." Sakuya put her headset over her ears.

"That's always a plus." Mello nodded.

"I hope she switched out." Matt said.

"That's what Rin told me." Sakuya said.

"Seriously?" Matt and Mello looked at the girl in between them.

"Seriously." Sakuya nodded.

"Sweetness!" Mello jumped up and down, avoiding the camera that stood a few feet away from him.

"Watch out, Mello." Aiden said from the anchor's desk.

"I know, Aiden." Mello said. "I'm just glad that Ayame is gone."

"Ayame's gone?" Aiden questioned.

"Yep." Sakuya nodded.

"Amazing!" Tetsuya punched the air. "I didn't think she'd actually leave."

"Who made her decide to leave?" Aiden asked.

"Probably Sakuya." Matt shrugged, setting up his camera before putting on the headphones connecting him to the control room.

"Why does everyone say that I made her leave?" Sakuya finally disentangled the cords for the headsets.

"Because the two of you fought constantly." Matt and Mello said together.

"No, we didn't." Sakuya said, before speaking into the headset. "We're ready, Light."

"Light?!" everyone in the recording room said together.

"Light's directing?" Mello wondered.

"_Yes, Matt, I am_." Came Light's voice from over the headset.

"Awesome!" Mello grinned.

"_Why is it such a big deal that I'm directing?_" Light wondered.

"_Because when you direct, we actually get things done_." L's voice echoed through the control room into the headset.

"_I'm not that great, you know_." Light said. _"Okay, everyone ready for a run-through?" _

The run-through went really well. The class had been ready to start a recorded run-through when they learned that their previous attempt had been recorded instead. Everyone blamed Sorahiro, since he was running the VTR, but he claimed that he had nothing to do with it.

"At least we didn't have to do another run-through." Matt said in English about twenty minutes later as he and Mello translated sentences from _The Tale of Genji_.

"And I got to read some more _Mushishi_." Mello pulled out his English-Japanese dictionary.

"I'm bored." Matt pulled out his iPod and shoved one of the headphones in his ear before giving the other to the blonde.

"So we listen to music?" Mello raised an eyebrow. "Sounds good to me."

"Any band you want in particular?" Matt wondered, scribbling something down on his paper.

"Just find something good." Mello said.

"Sounds good...oh!" Matt exclaimed. "I love this song!"

"The Offspring?" Mello raised an eyebrow. "They're an American band, aren't they?"

"So?" Matt frowned.

"I thought you didn't listen to American bands?" Mello explained.

"No, I do." Matt said. "That's Near, remember?"

"Oh, that's right." Mello said, writing some words in English down on the paper.

"You know, this song is kinda like you, Mels." Matt said softly.

"_Kristy, Are You Doing Okay_?" Mello frowned. "How so?"

"Because she was abused like you are." Matt said. "And I feel like I should be doing something."

"You have been, Matt." Mello assured him. "You've been here for me. That's all you really need to do."

"But Patrick's been abusing you for so long, Mello." Matt said, whipping out his own dictionary.

"But I only have the end of this year plus next year before I go off to college." Mello shrugged. "I can deal with it until then."

"But you don't have to." Matt said.

"I've been for this long." Mello said. "What's another year and a half going to do?"

"A lot of things, Mels." Matt said.

"I'll be fine, Matt." Mello said. "As long as you don't tell anyone about it."

"Now why would I do that?" Matt wondered.

"I just don't want you to do what Mikami did." Mello said.

"Well, I'm not going to let that happen." Matt assured him.

AP Psychology was certainly an interesting day. Aiber ended up teaching the class about the effects of Alzheimer's and Autism, which were completely unrelated. L and Mello spent the class passing notes back and forth between each other while Matt slept.

"What a boring class." Matt yawned as he walked to lunch with the blonde and the raven.

"It was actually a bit interesting." L informed the gamer.

"You just slept the whole time." Mello shrugged.

"I was up until almost three last night." Matt said.

"What were you playing?" Mello knew his best friend was just awake playing video games.

"_Ninja Gaiden_." Matt laughed.

"This needs to stop, Matt." L rolled his eyes.

"Look on the bright side, L." Mello said.

"There's a bright side?" The raven looked at the blonde in confusion. "What could possibly be good about this?"

"At least it wasn't _World of Warcraft_." Mello said.

"I haven't played that in a while, actually." Matt said, thinking.

"Maybe that's a good thing, Matt." Mello said.

"How is that a good thing, Mello?" Matt demanded.

"You play it so much." L said, speaking before the blonde could even open his mouth.

"Not as much as I used to." Matt said in self-defense.

"But still a lot." Mello said.

When they arrived at lunch, the teens found everyone already there. Mikami and Sakuya looked like they still hated each other, but at least they could act somewhat civilly toward each other.

"Plans for the night?" Misa asked the group at large.

"Misa, we have a date, remember?" Near reminded her.

"We do?" Misa frowned.

"Yes, we do." Near nodded. "At the new Romanian place."

"You really need to remember your dates, Misa." Light said, his arms wrapped around L.

"I remembered the one where we went to the movies." Misa said firmly.

"Only because you wanted to see the movie." Near rolled his eyes.

"What was it?" Matt asked, biting into his chicken sandwich.

"Some chick-flick." Near shrugged. "I don't remember what it was called."

"_PS: I Love You_." Misa replied.

"Oh, yeah." Near nodded.

"Well, I was planning on going to Matt's house today." Mello said. "I want to play some _Final Fantasy XII_."

"Ten's so much better." Sakuya said, taking a drink of her Pepsi.

"Are you kidding?!" Matt looked revolted. "Twelve's _much_ better than that."

"Are we seriously arguing about a video game?" Mikami asked.

"No, we're arguing about shoes." Sakuya rolled her eyes.

"Okay, no need to get pissed." Mikami snapped.

"If you two are going to fight, go somewhere else and do it." L ordered. "We don't want to hear it."

"Okay, whatever." Mikami said.

"At least you got past that part in _Kingdom Hearts II_, Mello." Misa told the blonde, who was eating his pizza. "That was sad."

"It was, wasn't it?" Matt agreed.

"So now you have to fight Xigbar." Light said.

"Xigbar?!" Mello looked shocked. "Man, I like Xigbar!"

"He's kinda creepy, though." L said.

"But he was the most emotional one in the whole Organization." Matt said.

"Are you kidding?!" Mello looked surprised at the redhead. "Demyx was so much more hyperactive then Xigbar."

"Um, is everyone forgetting about Roxas?" Light said.

"What about him?" Mello asked.

"Roxas had a heart." Sakuya replied. "He could genuinely feel emotions."

"Oh, that's right." Matt nodded.

"How do we forget that?" Misa exclaimed. "He was Sora's Nobody."

"Because Sora is a whiner?" Mello suggested.

"Come off it!" L exclaimed.

"If anyone is a whiner in KH, it's Kairi." Sakuya said firmly. "She's such a weakling!"

"Being a whiner and being weak aren't the same thing, Sakuya." Mello said.

"But Kairi's always like 'I'll save you, Sora!' but she doesn't do a damn thing." Sakuya pointed out. "Like in the World That Never Was."

"Before the fight with Xigbar?" the raven frowned.

"Remember Riku gave her the Keyblade? And she was all like 'I'll protect Sora' but she doesn't do anything." Sakuya explained. "She just gets attacked."

"Maybe she was supposed to get attacked." Mello pointed out. "Maybe it's in her character."

"Then her character sucks." Near said.

"Um...where's Mikami?" Matt asked suddenly.

When the teens looked to the end of the table, they saw a vacancy that had not been there a few minutes ago.

"He's probably inside moping again." Sakuya shrugged. "He's become such an angst whore lately."

"Maybe because you broke up with him?" Light suggested.

"I can't believe I actually went out with him." Sakuya said.

"But you had fun with him." Misa said, finishing her tuna salad.

Sakuya shrugged again and said, "Sometimes."

* * *

"So what are we going to do?"

Matt and Mello had just walked into Matt's house when they were greeted by a certain calico. Sirius practically jumped on Matt when the redhead walked in the door.

"I have no idea." Matt said, throwing his backpack on the floor. "We could always play some video games."

"I think I'm video gamed out, Matt." Mello said, setting his backpack on the floor next to Matt's. "Oh, shit!"

"What's wrong?" Matt frowned.

"I have therapy today." Mello said. "I completely forgot about that."

"It's okay." Matt said. "We'll have to do this some other time."

"I'll see if I can come over after it's over." Mello said, grabbing his backpack once again.

"Okay." Matt said. "Well, good luck today."

"Thanks." Mello grimaced as he headed out the door.

Sighing, Matt picked up Sirius and headed up to his room. He plucked his DS from the charger and started to play _Trace Memory_ before stopping suddenly. Sirius, who had long since fallen asleep on Matt's red plaid comforter, looked up at his owner, noticing the strange behaviour in the gamer.

Though Sirius didn't know what Matt was thinking, it was obvious to anyone who knew the redhead well. He was thinking about Mello. Matt always acted a certain way when he was around the blonde, or even just thinking about him.

Matt knew that there was a reason why Mello tried to commit suicide, even though Mello wouldn't tell him what it was. But why? Did Mello think that the gamer would get mad at him? Or was Mello simply embarrassed about how he felt?

Matt reached over to pet the calico as he said, "What am I going to do with him?"

* * *

Later that night, Mello lay in his bed, aquamarine eyes staring at the ceiling. His session with the therapist had been as boring as the previous ones had been. They talked about nothing, in Mello's opinion. The therapist had wanted to talk about why Mello tried to kill himself, but Mello wouldn't say anything. His therapist wasn't that thoughtful about sensitive matters and he didn't want some stranger to know how he felt about Matt.

But Mello had started to feel differently as of late. Sure, his feelings for Matt were the same, but there was something different. Somehow, Patrick didn't matter anymore. Patrick wouldn't be the deciding factor to if Mello went out with Matt or not.

Because Mello knew that he could hide his relationship with Matt from his father. And if it didn't work...well, Patrick would simply have to deal with it.

Mello knew what he had to do. There was a way to do this properly and Mello was going to do it.

**Ooh! what does Mello have planned?! The horrors of it all! *faints* not really. I hope it's okay. I'm getting stuff ready for college, so i might not be able to update for a little while. on with the deadly tale!**

**next chapter: why did i fall in love with you?**


	37. Why Did I Fall In Love With You?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note**

**Hey! Zephyr here. I'm still alive and with a new name! I'm SO sorry this took a year to get out. Between college and writer's block, this just didn't get written. Plus I had to be in the right mood to write it. It'll be obvious later. Before this, I have a few notes:**

**1. Okay, this is seriously more emo than I am. I did NOT intend for it to be this way. I know this is EXTREMELY unrealistic and I'm really hating myself for this, but I can't just veer off course so far into the story. So I guess it'll remain angst ridden until the end. Don't like it? Don't read.**

**2. I'm aware that the characters aren't very IC. Mello doesn't eat chocolate and Matt's not a smoker. I didn't know a whole lot about DN when I started writing this, but I know that's not an excuse. I'd love to start writing it in now, but it's far too late for that. So the characters are being OOC, but I'll try to get them as IC as possible from now on.**

**3. Many of my readers have said that there need to be more females: that's why Sakuya's in the story. I'm trying my best not to make her a Mary Sue, but I'm afraid that's what she's become. That aside, I hope I'm not being sexist and excluding the females from this story. **

**4. I realize that there are a TON of contradictions and things that are seemingly impossible. However, in order to fix them, I would need to rewrite the entire story, which I'm far to lazy to do right now, especially with being so busy at college. So unless I get around to fixing it, ECHO will remain as is.**

**I think that's about it. Keep in mind that I wrote the end at almost one in the morning, but it should be coherent. For the record, the chapter title is the literal English translation of one of my favourite songs by DBSK. The Japanese is ****Dōshite Kimi o Suki ni Natte Shimattandarō. It's great, so look it up!**** So let the deadly tale continue!  
**

Matt woke up when Sirius started licking his face, clearly trying to wake up his owner. It took the gamer a few minutes to wake up completely and he had to listen to several songs by Disturbed before he was ready to start the day. Matt wasn't looking forward to school, but it was a Friday, so there was always the weekend to look forward to.

"Any plans for today?" Angela asked when her son walked into the kitchen.

"Probably going to hang out with Mello after school." Matt said, opening the cupboard and grabbing a breakfast bar. "Why?"

"You've been hanging out with Mello a lot lately." Angela said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Because he's my best friend." Matt said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Would you like me to hang out with L and Light, too?"

"You haven't been with Near in a while, either." Angela mused. "Is everything okay with him?"

"I guess." Matt shrugged. "I still hate his guts for lying to me."

"He wasn't very good for you, Matt." Angela commented.

"Obviously." Matt bit into the breakfast bar. "I'm going over to Mello's, then."

"Okay." Angela said. "Don't forget I'll be at work today when you get home."

"Got it." Matt said before walking out the door.

When Matt arrived at Mello's house, he didn't bother knocking before walking inside. Mello had told him that Matt didn't really need to knock before coming inside in the mornings since Patrick wouldn't be home. The afternoons, however, were a different story.

"What's up, Mello?" Matt asked, walking into the small kitchen.

"Not much, Matt." Mello said. "Just glad it's Friday."

"Aren't we all?" Matt grinned.

"What game did you play last night?" Mello knew Matt well enough to know that the redhead had been playing video games until early morning.

"Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening." Matt said.

"For the third time?" Mello raised an eyebrow, grabbing his bottle of anti-depressants from the top of the fridge.

"Seventh." Matt said nonchalantly.

"And I'm still stuck on the first one." Mello rolled his eyes before taking his pill and tossing the bottle back on top of the fridge.

"You'll get past it." Matt said.

"I know I will." Mello said, grabbing a piece of toast from the toaster.

"Let's get going." Matt said. "I want to get first block over with."

"It's not that bad with Ayame gone." Mello said as he grabbed his backpack and followed Matt out the door.

"But we still have Saki to deal with." Matt replied.

"Saki's only really bad when he's mad." Mello shrugged.

"And fortunately that doesn't happen that much." Matt nodded.

"God, we'd be in some deep shit, wouldn't we?" Mello said.

* * *

"Mello, will you please stop playing video games and get to work?"

Mello's teal eyes looked up from his DS and found Aiden staring at him, the annoyance obvious in his eyes. The blonde was meant to be in charge of camera two that day, but the anchors were still receiving instructions from their teacher.

"What is there to do, Aiden?" Mello shrugged. "I can't really do anything while everyone is crowded around the anchor's desk. And furthermore..." he continued, "Haven't you noticed that Matt's not working either?"

And indeed, when Aiden looked over to the other side of the room, he saw Matt sprawled out on one of the couches playing Lunar Knights on his DS.

"Matt, why have you corrupted Mello?" Aiden sighed.

"I didn't corrupt him, Aiden." Matt leaned his head back so he could look at the other teen.

"I played a lot of video games before I moved here." Mello had returned to his game. "I just happened to find someone who like them as much as I do."

"Or more." Aiden muttered under his breath before stalking off to the control room.

"I think he's mad." Matt said, a smile forming on his lips.

"Just a bit, huh?" Mello laughed in response.

"So what game are you playing?" Matt asked, flipping over to his stomach so that he could properly talk with Mello.

"Fire Embalm: Shadow Dragon" Mello replied.

"Good game." Matt nodded. "What part are-"

"Let's get going, people!" L came out of the control room, handing a set of scripts to the anchors and Matt and Mello.

"It's about time, L." Mello said, taking the paper from the raven.

"The printer wasn't working." L said defensively.

"Someone tell Matt to turn his camera on." Sakuya yelled from inside the control room.

"Cool it, Saku, I can hear you through the headset." Matt sighed.

"Well, I figured that you couldn't hear me." Sakuya apparently had put her own headset on. "And why Saku all of a sudden?"

"I just felt like it, okay?" Matt shrugged as he watched Mello adjust his camera.

"You know that that's one of Dir en Grey's more violent songs, right?" Mello's eyes were on the gamer.

"She doesn't need to know that." Matt grinned.

"I heard that, Matt." Sakuya apparently had heard.

"Calm down, Sakuya." Matt said.

"Sakuya, are you directing today?" Mello asked.

"Yep." Sakuya replied.

"Good Lord, head for the hills." Came Light's reply from over the headset.

"Light, why do you have a headset?" Sakuya frowned.

"Because I'm bored." Was Light's response.

"So go find something to do." Mello said, his eyes on the focusing screen. "Wanna do my English homework for me?"

"Yeah, you can do mine for AP Euro." Matt offered.

"I'm not that desperate." Light said.

Matt laughed and went back to his video game, the emerald eyes focused on the screen in front of him.

At that moment, Saki came out and announced that everyone was meant to be quiet because they were starting a run-through. It took about fifteen minutes to get a good recording, which didn't leave Mello and Matt with very much video game time before going to English.

English was very uneventful that day. They worked on translating pages from The Picture of Dorian Gray, which no one was excited about.

"I swear, why do we have to take English?" Matt complained as he translated his assigned pages.

"Because most of the world speaks English?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

After English was AP Psychology, which was just as boring as English. Aiber gave a lecture about the development in a child's brain, which Matt completely slept through.

"Were you awake at all during today's lesson?" L asked as he followed Mello and Matt to the cafeteria for lunch.

"For the first few words." Matt admitted.

"I wonder about you, Matt." Mello rolled his eyes.

"Like the rest of us don't wonder about you?" Matt's eyes were on the blonde.

"What do you mean?" Mello frowned.

"Well, ever since you tried to kill yourself, you've been acting strangely." Matt explained as they passed a group of freshmen.

"Especially around Matt." L chimed in.

"Not really, L." Matt said.

"I'm fine, guys." Mello assured them. "I promise."

"If you say so." Matt didn't look like he believed Mello.

When they reached the lunch table, they found that Misa was still clinging to Near, who looked rather annoyed.

"I wonder why he hasn't ditched her yet." Mello whispered to Matt.

"I heard that, Mello." Misa glared at the blonde.

"So any plans for the weekend?" Light asked as he took his seat next to the raven.

"I'm going to go to Mikami's for a bit." Sakuya answered as she popped the tab of her Coke.

"Mikami's?" Mello, L and Light asked in surprise.

"Yeah, he wants to try to be friends." Sakuya explained. "Which is a good thing, I guess."

"That's always the hardest part." Matt nodded.

"Because you have so much experience in these matters." Light rolled his eyes.

"Well, Matt has had a lot of boyfriends." Near pointed out.

"Well, that's comforting." Mello thought to himself.

"Thanks for bringing that up, Near." Matt glared at the seemingly albino teen.

"Just thought I'd mention it." Near shrugged. "And it's true, you know."

"You including yourself in that list?" Sakuya asked. "You did go out with him, you know."

"It was a dare, though." Near pointed out.

"It was still over a year, so I'd consider it." L said.

"I don't like to admit it, but I agree." Misa nodded before taking a drink of Pepsi.

"Dude, if your girlfriend is agreeing, then I'd say you're part of the list." Light said before biting into a hamburger.

"But I'm not gay!" Near exclaimed. "Or even bi!"

"But you still went out with me." Matt pointed out.

"I'm assuming you kissed him, right?" L raised an eyebrow.

"What's that have to do with anything?" Near asked.

"Did it feel weird for you to be kissing another guy?" L asked.

"Duh!" Near exclaimed. "It's not like I liked it!"

"So you're saying that I don't kiss very well?" Matt looked annoyed. "Thanks a lot, Near."

"How did we get on this topic?" Misa asked as she bit into an apple.

"I couldn't begin to tell you." Mello shrugged.

* * *

Later that night, Matt was online when Chase of the Highway echoed throughout the room. It took him a few minutes to find his phone, which was on his bed underneath Sirius. It seemed that the calico cat liked to sleep on electronic devices.

Matt opened the flip and learnt that the text was from Mello. It contained four words.

Meet at the creek?

Matt frowned, wondering why Mello would want to go to the creek behind the nearby park at almost nine at night. After a series of texts, they agreed to meet by the docks near a small pond.

"Who knows what he wants, Sirius?" Matt said to the cat as he pulled his shoes on.

Sirius opened his eyes to glare at the redhead for interrupting his sleep before promptly closing his eyes again.

"Okay, fine by me." Matt rolled his eyes before leaving his room.

After leaving the bedroom, Matt went down to the living room and found Angela watching the news.

"Mom, I'm going to meet Mello at the creek. Apparently he wants to talk about something." Matt said.

"Okay." Angela nodded. "Just be back by midnight."

"Got it." Matt said before heading out.

* * *

Mello sat on the docks, his dangling feet kicking back and forth. He was surprisingly calm at the moment, though he knew that would change as soon as Matt got there. He knew what he wanted to say. The question was whether or not Mello would actually remember to say them.

"What's up, Mels?"

Mello turned around and saw Matt walking towards him, his emerald eyes looking confused.

"I need to talk to you, Matt." Mello said.

"Okay." Matt said slowly as he sat down next to Mello on the dock. "About what?"

"I don't really know where to start, actually." Mello said nervously.

"Well, the beginning is usually a good place." Matt smiled.

"I guess, yeah." Mello laughed. He looked at Matt and said, "Do you remember how I was before we became friends?"

"You were more emo than anyone I'd met." Matt nodded. "Why?"

"Well, if it wasn't for you, I don't think I'd be the person I am." Mello explained, brushing his hair from his aquamarine eyes.

"I don't know if I played that big of a part, but okay." Matt said.

"You were the first person I told about my family." Mello continued. "No one else besides Mikami knows about my father and my past." He sighed and said, "Life at home might not have been great, but I always knew I could come to you if I had any problems."

"And I'm glad you were finally able to talk to me about it." Matt said.

"You know that song from Staind?" Mello asked as he looked into Matt's eyes. "It's Been Awhile?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "What about it?"

"That line." Mello said. "It's been a while, but all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you."

"What are you talking about, Mello?" Matt was obviously confused.

"When I was around you, Matt, I forgot about my father." Mello explained. "I forgot how bad my home life is. Being with you was like a haven for me."

"What are you trying to tell me, Mello?" Matt asked.

"Remember when we were at the convention?" Mello asked. "When you kissed me?"

"How could I forget that?" Matt asked. "What about it?"

"It's like the line of the song." Mello said. "It's been a while, but I can still remember just the way you taste." He looked at Matt and said, "To this day, I remember the way you kissed me."

"Is that why-" Matt started to say.

"So I guess I'm taking the long way of saying that I like you." Mello said nervously. "And by like I mean taken with you."

Both boys were silent after Mello's confession. Matt was trying to piece all of this new information together and Mello was waiting for Matt's response.

"So I was right..." Matt said softly.

"About what?" Mello raised an eyebrow.

"Your suicide note." Matt looked at Mello. "Your poem."

"Oh." Mello said slowly.

"The last sentence is 'I'd rather end my life then have you suffer because of a kiss', isn't it?" Matt asked. "You knew Patrick wouldn't like it if he found out that you kissed me. So you wanted to kill yourself before he found out?"

"Kind of." Mello said. "Not really."

"Then explain." Matt asked, his emerald eyes serious.

"If we ever started going out, my father would try to destroy you, Matt. I can't let that happen." Mello said. "I wanted to go out with you, more than anything, but I didn't want to put you in danger. Instead of having you get hurt, I'd kill myself to save you." He looked at Matt and said, "But, as you know, things didn't exactly go according to plan."

"But there's always a chance that Patrick wouldn't find out about us." Matt said. "If we were to keep it secret..."

"How would we know he- wait a minute." Mello stopped suddenly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'd say so." Matt nodded before pressing his lips to Mello's.

It was exactly as Mello remembered. The way Matt tasted, the way their tongues slid together, it was the same as their first time. But this time was different. This wasn't for the sake of cosplay. This was real.

And that's how this was different from their first kiss. Though this was their second kiss, this was the first one with meaning, with real feelings and emotions behind it.

"This can't end well." Mello said softly, breaking away from Matt.

"Have more confidence, Mels." Matt wrapped his arm around Mello's waist. "Things won't always turn out badly."

Mello looked at Matt for a few seconds before resting his head on the redhead's shoulder and saying, "I hope you're right."

**It's about damn time! I've been waiting to write that last scene for AGES! I can hear all the MXM fangirls now. ^_^ Now you can see why I was waiting for the right mood to write this. I hope it was up to everyone's expectations. I'll try to be quicker updating, but I'm leaving for the beach tomorrow, home for a week, then heading off for Korea and Hawaii for two weeks. Then I have a little less than a month before I start my second year of college. I'm the entertainment editor for our newspaper now, so I won't have a lot of time. But I write whenever I get the chance. So don't be surprised if I don't get to update in a while. Hope this was worth the read! Reviews equal love! Zephyr out.**

**Next chapter: who will discover Matt and Mello's secret first?  
**


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